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I 



COMMENTS ON 
HACKS AND HUNTERS 




3 



p^ 



COMMENTS ON 
HACKS AND HUNTERS 



BY 

LIDA L. FLEITMANN 



If there are no horses in Heaven I have no desire to enter." 

— Aeistotle. 



NEW YORK 

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

1921 






Copyright, 1921, bt 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



Published October, 1921 



H0yi7'2l 

'©CI.A630485 



PRINTED AT 

THE SCRIBNER PRESS 

NEW YORK, U. S. A. 



'Jh' \ 



TO 
, JOHN R. TOWNSEND 

EX-M. F. H. OF THE ORANGE COUNTY, THE MIDDLEBURG, THE 
PIEDMONT, AND THE GLEN ARDEN HUNTS 

THE KEENEST OF SPORTSMEN 

THE MOST FINISHED OF HORSEMEN 

THE KINDEST AND BEST OF FRIENDS 

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED AS A SMALL TRIBUTE OF A GREAT 

GRATITUDE FOR THE INVALUABLE HELP AND 

ADVICE HE HAS GIVEN ME 



AUTHOR'S APOLOGY 

"I only thought to make 

I know not what; nor did I undertake 
Thereby to please my neighbor. No; not I. 
I did it mine own self to gratify." 

— John Bunyan. 

So many countless books have been written on the 
subject of horses that in adding another volume to 
that already prodigious list, it seems as if an apology, 
or at least an explanation, were due my readers. 

Confession is good for the soul, and possibly it is as 
well to admit, first as last, that the very human instinct 
'Ho create," to follow Carlyle's advice when he said: 
"Produce, Produce — ^Though it be but the merest 
fraction of a fragment — Produce it" — is very largely 
responsible for this book's existence. 

That is not all. That alone would scarcely be ample 
justification. Added to this the authoress also hopes 
that she will, perhaps, be able to fill a long-felt need 
among the horse lovers of America. The majority of 
books obtainable on the subject of the handling of 
high-class horses are Enghsh works, and in England 
the conditions of hunting and showing are so different, 
that the advice given can, as a general rule, be of as- 
sistance only to the expert capable of applying it to 
fit American conditions. 

Those thinking to find in this volume any new or 
startling facts, anything original, will be disappointed. 
In horsemanship, as well as in nearly everything else, 
'* There is nothing (or at least very little) worth think- 

vii 



viii AUTHOR'S APOLOGY 

ing that has not been thought before, and we can only 
try to think it again." Who was it that said, ^^To say 
a thing that everybody else has said before, as quietly 
as if nobody had ever said it — that is originality." And 
I fear that that is the only kind of originality I shall 
lay claim to. 

If by expressing simply and clearly facts well known 
to experienced horsemen, I can inspire the novice — 
and particularly those of my own sex — to attain a 
greater degree of proficiency; if I can create in natures, 
in which it now lies dormant, a love of horse and hound, 
of sport and of God's great out-of-doors, I shall feel 
myself amply repaid. After all, as Oliver Wendell 
Holmes tells us, it is true that ^'The best of a book is 
not in the thought it contains, but the thought it sug- 
gests, just as the charm of music dwells not in the tones 
but in the echoes of our own hearts." 

** Covert-Side Farm," 

East Norwich, Long Island, 
August, 1921. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTEK PAGE 

I. Buying . 1 

II. Conformation and Action 9 

III. The Model Saddle Horse 30 

IV. The Thoroughbred Versus the Kentucky 

Saddle Horse . 41 

V. The Hunter 56 

VI. The Side-Saddle Versus the Cross-Saddle 74 

VII. Hints on Riding 85 

VIII. Jumping 119 

IX. Hunting 130 

X. Hunting Abroad ......... 143 

XL Showing Saddle Horses 159 

XII. Showing Hunters and Jumpers .... 184 

XIII. Suggestions to Horse-Show Managements 194 

XIV. Showing Abroad 200 

XV. Saddles, Bridles, and Other Tack . . . 204 

XVI. Dress 230 

Reference List of Appointments . . . 258 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Palmetto Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 

Golden Duck 2 

John R. Townsend, Esq., on Greek Dollar .... 10 

Robert L. Gerry, Esq., on Hamsah 22 

F. Vivian Gooch, Esq., on Turquoise ..... 32 

Ben Dale 36 

William H. Moore^s hackney mare, Lady Seaton . . 46 

Kentucky-bred mare, Bohemian Actress 46 

Harvey S. Ladew's thoroughbred mare, Leading Lady. 46 

Model middle-weight hunter. Sir Linsin 58 

Model light-weight hunter, Down East 58 

Golden Duck 70 

Imp. Irish Heather . 86 

ThePiaffre . 86 

Bronze of the authoress on Cygnet ...... 120 

John R. Townsend, Esq., on the Martindale Bismark, 

and T. Luis Onativia on the Parson 132 

Sceptre 160 

Palmetto — over the triple bar 186 

xi 



xii ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACING PAGB 

Confidence making the world's record of eight feet 
one-half inch at the Syracuse Horse Show. Dick 

Donnelly up 186 

Ballsbridge Horse Show, Dublin, 1913 202 

Olympia, London, 1913 . . . . 202 

Miss Sarah (1896) . 216 

Dick Christian, a famous blood hunter 216 



INTRODUCTION 

" Four things greater than all things are, 
Women and Horses, Power and War." 

— Kipling. 

The Duke of Wellington's statement that "The 
Battle of Waterloo was won on Eton's cricket fields'* 
may possibly not apply with equal force to the last 
great war. It remains a fact, nevertheless, that the 
sportsmen of America and England were among the 
first to enlist, and in many cases, particularly among 
the horsemen, they joined the most hazardous branches 
of the service. 

What is more important, however, than that sport 
should render the men of the nation fit and game 
fighters, is that sport may become — ^is in fact rapidly 
becoming — one of the meaiis of establishing more 
friendly international relations. International tennis 
tournaments, golf matches, yacht races — or the recent 
splendid polo match played at Hurlingham — do untold 
good in building up a mutual understanding, a closer 
feeling of fellowship, and a common interest between 
the peoples of the world. 

It is often foolishly argued that wars are a neces- 
sary evil, without which nations would lose their viril- 
ity and become soft; but what war does to maintain 
the stamina of a nation, sport can do, and do far better. 
For, whereas war not only brutalizes men, but also de- 
stroys the very manly vigor it creates, sport keeps its 
votaries in splendid health until advanced old age. 

This last is especially true of riding, and the old say- 

xiii 



xiv INTRODUCTION 

ing, ''The outside of a horse is the best thing for the 
inside of a man," has been indorsed too often to need 
repeating. Here in America men and women are in- 
cHned to be old at sixty, but in England and Ireland, 
where one sees hundreds of men and women with gray 
hair riding hard and straight to hounds, one reaUzes 
that this is one of the reasons for their vigorous, rosy- 
cheeked old people. Because they have learned how 
to play, they have also learned how to live, and Uve 
long. After all, there is much truth in the old French 
saying: ''The gods made us all immortal; old age is a 
voluntary thing." 

Moreover, it is not only physical fitness that is ac- 
quired by a love of sport, but also mental and moral 
qualities of greater importance. For the mind as well 
as for the body, there is nothing quite so good as the 
great out-of-doors. "Few evil things can Hve in the 
sun." As long as we are obUged to hve in human 
bodies, a clean, wholesome, healthy body is far more 
apt to house a clean wholesome mind. 

The "whole problem of hfe is not to make life easier, 
but to make men stronger," and any study, action, 
emotion, or sport that can lay claim to doing this, has 
a right to be considered a moral factor for good. 
Courage, cool, steady nerves, pluck and physical en- 
durance are not only by-products of the health in- 
duced by sport, but are particularly cultivated by such 
sports as racing, hunting, and polo, in which the ele- 
ment of danger plays a certain part. Nor is this all; 
sport cultivates, in fact demands, the virtues of fair 
play, educates the powers of observation and judgment, 
insists on self -discipline, patience, calmness, and the 
abiUty to control one's nerves and one's temper. The 
sportsman must be open-handed and honorable, and 



INTRODUCTION xv 

must be able to admire his adversary's best qualities, 
must be a good loser and a graceful winner, and in all 
things ''play the game/^ In other words, the ''true 
sportsman and the true gentleman are synonymous." 

I thoroughly agree with Frank Sherman Peer when 
he says, in "Cross Country with Horse and Hound": 
"Nor is it too much to say that the universal love of 
sports in England is one of the principal causes of her 
greatness as a nation. Fair play is a cardinal virtue 
among her people. The lessons the youth of England 
absorbs from cricket, football, rowing, and other out- 
door sports of skill and chance, have done as much to 
establish and maintain the supremacy of that little 
country among the nations of the world as have all 
her schools and colleges and churches combined." 

What is true of men is equally true of women. 
Courage, and strength, and nerve are as essential to a 
woman as to a man, and by right-minded people as 
much admired in her as is tenderness and kindness and 
refinement in him. 

"In the long years liker must they grow; 
The Man be more of Woman, she of man, 
He gain in sweetness and in moral height, 
Nor lose the wrestling thews that throw the world; 
She mental breadth nor fail in childward care, 
Nor lose the childlike in the larger mind; 
Till at the last she set herself to man 
Like perfect music unto noble words." 

It is wrong to suppose that to be a sportswoman, or 
a fine horsewoman she must drink and swear and smoke, 
or that she need have the unsightly biceps of a man, 
look hke a scalped Indian, or be so straight and flat- 
chested as to lose all femininity. Physical fitness 
and strength of character do not necessarily imply 



xvi INTRODUCTION 

masculinity. One can have just as neat an ankle, just 
as graceful a figure, even a tiny mid- Victorian waist, and 
still ride hard to hounds and pound the whole field. 
The woman who can be a ^^pal" to her husband, ac- 
company him in his sports, and tramp and ride with 
him cross-country, is apt to hold him longer and be 
less often in the divorce courts than the woman whose 
chief attraction is looking pretty, playing a good game 
of cards, and dancing the latest jazz. She will not 
only be a healthier, happier, more companionable wife, 
but a stronger, healthier mother, with stronger children, 
and a younger-looking more cheerful grandmother. 

Unfortunately, in this country, the more intellectual 
people of high mental, moral, and spiritual standing 
do not reaUze that sport offers anything but purely 
physical advantages. If a man or a woman are keen 
about sport, or lovers of hunting and horses, they are 
accredited with having brains for nothing else. At 
dinners their non-horsey neighbors, in order to keep the 
ball of conversation rolling, feel in duty bound to rack 
their brains and remember something about their 
aunt's grandmother's brougham horse who once jumped 
a fence. To say the least, this sort of thing is an in- 
sult to one's intelUgence. Yet, that is the average 
serious-minded American's attitude toward the horse- 
man or horsewoman. To be dubbed '' horsey," in this 
country, is to have people imply that you have the in- 
telligence of a cabbage. As a matter of pure fact, this 
attitude is unfortunately sometimes justified. We are 
a nation of specialists, and although our average of 
horsemanship is very much lower than in England, we 
are, nevertheless, able to produce a few cracks, who 
do think, breathe, and eat nothing but horse, and there- 
fore can beat England's best at their own game. 



INTRODUCTION xvii 

Over there every one, young and old, are sportsmen 
and horse lovers. It is part of a child's very educa- 
tion. To be a horseman over here stamps you as 
rather a freak; to be a horseman over there is to be 
normal, and does not in the least imply that you there- 
fore belong to a certain set of people of doubtful intel- 
lectual abiUty. England's biggest statesmen, her mer- 
chants, her soldiers, her artists, and even her clergy 
are, most of them, sportsmen, and many of them horse- 
men. It is time indeed that America, also, began to 
realize that one can be just as great in one's business 
or work, and just as good in one's life, and still know 
how to play healthily and happily in God's great 
out-of-doors. 

Having said so much in praise of England, I will 
perhaps be called upon to defend myself from the 
stigma of Anglomania. True patriotism is, to my 
mind, not so much saying that ^'everything that is 
American is best," but rather "the best of everything 
for America," and throughout this book I shall again 
and again quote England and England's methods, be- 
cause, without the shadow of a doubt, she is as far 
ahead of us in matters of sport, as France and Italy 
are in matters of music and art. With England, sport 
is a national institution, and unless a thing is a national 
institution, it seldom becomes great. If we wish to 
equal England in the realms of sport, we can only do 
so by following her lead, and so imbuing all the young 
people of the land with the love of sport, and what 
sport stands for, that it becomes a national institution 
with us, as it has been with her for generations and 
generations. 



CHAPTER I 
BUYING 

"The ways of a man with a maid 
Be strange, but tame 
To the ways of a man with a horse 
When buying or selling the same.'* 

— Kipling. 

A Tuscan proverb says that in buying a horse or 
taking a wife, shut your eyes tight and commend 
yourself to God. I am not so sure but that there is 
a whole lot of truth in it. Marriage and buying horses 
are both a lottery, and while it is certain that the more 
brains you put into the choice the better chance you 
run of its turning out satisfactorily, still there is no 
guarantee that even the wisest will not sometimes 
be fooled. 

There are many different types of buyers and many 
ways of buying horses. There is, for example, the 
excessively rich man or woman trying to get into 
society via the door labelled ''Horse Shows" who de- 
sires to own a large stable, which, once they have 
acquired it, will cease to interest them. They will, 
in all probability, do their buying by giving their 
manager or stud-groom carte hlanche to get the best 
that money can buy. If the groom or manager hap- 
pens to be honest, and is a good horseman, he will, 
by means of an unnecessarily large expenditure of 
money, collect a fair enough stable of animals. How- 
ever, such good luck is rare. To be a really good 
judge of a horse requires more brains than the average 

1 



2 ' HACKS AND HUNTERS 

stud-groom possesses. He may be a good rider and 
an excellent ^' caretaker ^^ of horses, but that does not 
necessarily imply that his opinion is worth much when 
it comes to picking a horse. He may talk as if he 
knew it all, and describe the horses his choice has 
fallen upon as if they were all world-wonders, but in 
nine cases out of ten his own self-interest is prompt- 
ing him. It is a perfectly legitimate practice in all 
horse-dealing for a commission to pass between th*e 
groom and the dealer, but it is a practice that is often 
taken advantage of by a groom with elastic morals, 
who persuades his inexperienced master to consummate 
any sale that will accrue most to his personal advan- 
tage and from which he will derive the largest com- 
mission. 

In any case, this method of leaving the choice of 
one's horses entirely in the hands of an employee, no 
matter how trusted he may be, is scarcely one that 
appeals to the real sportsman. 

Nor can the true lover of sport indorse the practice 
of buying, at fabulous prices, horse-show champions 
as they emerge from the ring with the tricolored ribbon. 
Any one with sufficient ready cash can manage, by 
this scheme, to get together a fairly good stable of 
horses, but how long the occupants of such a stable 
continue to be champions remains to be seen. For 
even the fabulous price merely bought the horse and 
not the rider, and in more cases than one, to those 
'*in the know," the rider has contributed at least 50 
per cent to the horse's ability to win. I know of one 
gentleman who used to buy and sell a great many 
horses for his amusement, and who hung on the wall 
of his exercise-ring a large sign: '^I do not sell the 
rider with the horse." 



BUYING 3 

Most of us who have been in the horse-show game 
for any length of tune have seen countless champions, 
who, after changing hands and being poorly trained 
and badly ridden, deteriorate so rapidly that in an 
unbeUevably short time they are no longer able to 
win even in a local show. 

Champions that can be bought at the ringside are, 
in most cases — unless they belong to a dealer or some 
one who is short of this world's goods — already in their 
zenith, and their owners, being suspicious that their 
palmiest days are over, are clever enough, or mer- 
cenary enough, to sell at the moment at which the 
market is highest. In such cases the deterioration of 
the ex-champion in the hands of the imlucky pur- 
chaser is still more rapid. 

In any case, even when successful, there is very 
little real pleasiu-e, and even less sport, to be fotind in 
showing horses that have been ''brought ouf and 
have made their initial success under others. At best, 
the pubUc are looking for flaws in yom* way of train- 
ing and riding, and if the horse loses it is all your fault, 
while if he wins the credit goes to his former owner or 
trainer. 

There is, of course, no objection to buying an occa- 
sional blue-ribbon winner if you particularly fancy 
him and can afford the price, but in the long run the 
real sport and fim of the thing comes in ''bringing 
out'' a yoimg one, or a green one, and having the 
credit for his jfirst victories. 

Buying horses either through means of one's grooms 
or by searching the ringside for champions are temp- 
tations and failings that fortunately can only be in- 
dulged in by the very wealthy. Those who have to 
count their pennies and still find the "feed" bill very 



4 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

high have to do theu* buying in a different and more 
interesting way, but one equally beset with pitfalls 
for the unwary. 

If, though ignorant of horse-flesh, they acknowledge 
their ignorance, they may avoid some of these mis- 
takes; but if they are ignorant and know it not, as is 
usually the case, they will fall into one of two diffi- 
culties: 

(1) They will be ensnared by some unscrupulous 
dealer whom they will try to impress with their vast 
knowledge, be secretly laughed at, and end by buy- 
ing a ''skate." 

(2) They will rely on their own "superior" knowl- 
edge and attempt to buy a horse at auction, or, worse 
yet, think they have acquired a bargain because they 
have managed to get at a low price some cast-off from 
a prominent show stable, that, according to the ad- 
vertisement, is ''being entirely sold out because the 
owner has given up riding, or is going abroad." 

In nine cases out of ten so-called "dispersal sales" 
are merely a process of weeding out the culls. The 
real winners, although put in the catalogue as in- 
cluded in the sale, are used as bait to attract buyers, 
and are either withdrawn before the sale or else 
"bought in." It is not a very honorable practice but 
one very commonly indulged in. 

Buying at auction is at best, even for an experienced 
horseman, a very ticklish business. There is no way 
of testing, adequately, the prospective purchase before 
the sale. There is but Httle opportunity to learn his 
past except by hearsay, and it is extremely difficult 
to judge much of his way of going or his manners 
during the few short runs up and down the tan-bark 
at the sale. There is method in the madness of most 



BUYING 5 

auctions, and every little thing that is done, is done 
for the purpose of bamboozling the buyer into think- 
ing the horse is better than he is. If the animal is 
badly made he is shown under saddle, as he will prob- 
ably look better ^^ dressed up"; if, on the other hand, 
he is bad-mannered, he will most probably be shown 
in hand, thus giving him little chance to play up when 
led judiciously around the ring with little freedom 
of the head. 

All horses are described glowingly in auction lists, 
and if one could believe half of the contents one would 
think that the horseman's Eldorado had been reached. 
The words ''safe and kind; has been hunted by a lady," 
interpreted by those ''in the know," suggest that the 
selfsame lady is now lying somewhere with her toes 
turned up to the roots of the daisies as the result 
of this hunting. The phrase "will jump anything," 
rightly read, might mean either that the animal will 
jmnp anything — ^providing, of course, that you can 
ever persuade him to get near enough in order to be 
able to jump it — or else, that he literally plunges over 
crags and chasms when you are merely meaning to go 
out for a quiet Httle hack. 

Buying young or green horses from the breeders or 
farmers in Virginia or Canada, or picking up promising 
discards from the race-track is an amusing, and often 
fairly cheap, method of obtaining horses, but in com- 
mon with importing horses from England or Ireland, 
it is only successful when attempted by a thoroughly 
experienced horseman and should never be tried by 
the novice. 

It takes a fair degree of knowledge to pick even an 
ordinary hack or hunter, and to choose a show horse 
requires more than an exceptional eye for a horse; it 



6 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

needs a knowledge and experience possessed by very 
few even of the so-called horsemen of the day. 

Therefore, don't attempt to do your own choosmg, 
either at a private sale or auction, unless you are a 
sufficiently good horseman or horsewoman to pick a 
horse in the rough, when he looks like a woolly bear; 
to detect unsoundness almost as quickly as a veter- 
inary; or to tell if a horse will give you a comfort- 
able ride by merely watching him move. 

But enough of how not to buy a horse. Let us see 
rather what is the besl way for a beginner to obtain 
a really good animal, irrespective of whether he is 
destined for the show ring or merely for hacking and 
hunting. 

On the whole, my advice is to let the choice of a 
horse be made by some friend who is a ''dyed in the 
wooP' horseman, and a man in whom you can put 
absolute trust and reliance. Tell him just what type 
of horse you want, what purpose you want to use him 
for, and how much you are willing to pay; but don't 
add a thousand and one details as to exact height, 
sex, color, markings, etc. Leave that to him, for it 
is hard enough to find a good horse anyway, without 
being hampered by all sorts of fooHsh and unneces- 
sary restri(3tions. After he has picked an animal for 
you, even though he may have ridden the horse him- 
self, be sure to ride him also before you close the deal. 
This precaution is particularly necessary if you are a 
woman and your adviser is a man, because many a 
horse that is suited in his gaits to the latter might have 
too Httle hock action to be comfortable for the former, 
or a horse that from a man's point of view merely 
went ''well up into his bridle," to a woman would seem 
to take too much of a hold to make a desirable hack. 



BUYING 7 

If you are not quite sure the animal suits, try some- 
thing else; don't be persuaded to buy the horse at once 
out of fear of that mythical ^^ other party," who is 
supposed to be waiting just around the corner ready 
to snatch him up if you reject him. Horses, unless 
they are very exceptional ones and times are very 
good, don't usually sell as quickly as hot cakes. 

Undoubtedly many people brought up on the prin- 
ciple that a man will cheat his own brother in horse- 
flesh, will think my suggestion to mix friendship and 
horse-dealing a very foolish one, and will prophesy 
that it is one likely to lead to trouble and a breaking 
off of friendly relations. But a friendship so easily 
broken off is not worth the having, for by ^^ friend" I 
do not mean mere acquaintance. 

If one is not fortunate enough to possess a real 
friend who is also a horseman, then I think the next 
best thing for the novice to do is to go to a first-class, 
well-known and reputable dealer and frankly tell him 
that you don't know much about a horse and are 
relying on his judgment to find a good one, and nine 
cases out of ten he will be more apt to get you a good 
animal than if you go to him possessed with the illu- 
sion that you are going to be able to hoodwink him 
into thinking you are an expert judge. 

Owing to the natural uncertainties regarding the 
exact quahty of the article for sale, namely the horse, 
the buying and selling is open to much cheating and 
lying and distrust on both sides. Nevertheless there 
are honest dealers who will treat you '^ white" if 
placed upon their honor and trusted. They really try 
to maintain a high standard of reputation, and do 
their best to satisfy their customers, in many cases to 
the extent of taking a horse back if he does not suit. 



8 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

The people who have been cheated by dealers have 
usually not gone to reputable ones, and they have, to 
boot, gone with the idea that they are going to be 
cheated. They are also apt to be as deceitful with 
the dealers as to their real ability to ride, or the length 
of their pocket-book, as he is with them. On the 
whole, I have found that ^4f you trust men they will 
be true to you," and although the buying and selling 
of horses may put that faith to a stronger and more 
severe test than anything else, I still cling to it. 

Occasionally every one will be cheated in horse- 
flesh, as in everything else, but on the whole if you 
never manage to pick up a good horse, and are always 
and forever being disappointed, then I can only say 
that the fault probably lies largely with you. 

''Diving and finding no pearls in the sea 
Blame not the ocean; the fault is in thee." 



CHAPTER II 
CONFORMATION AND ACTION 

"A head like a snake, and a skin like a mouse, 
An eye like a woman, bright, gentle and brown, 
With loins and a back that would carry a house. 
And quarters to hft him smack over a town." 

— Whyte Melville. 

There are, as we have already said, a few fortunate 
people who possess an almost intuitive eye in judging 
a horse, but the vast majority of men, and, even more, 
women, never attempt to acquire any technical knowl- 
edge about a horse, and learn what little they do know 
only through bitter experiences and disappointments. 
To become a good judge of conformation requires 
careful study, and it goes without saying that whether 
we rely on the judgment of others in buying our horses, 
or whether we make our own purchases, the more we 
learn about the proper conformation, gaits, etc., of a 
horse the better fitted we are eventually to become 
finished horsemen or horsewomen. 

There are certain primary observations which should 
always be kept in mind when judging. In choosing a 
horse we should endeavor to pick one in whom there 
is no one very weak point, or no one part of his anatomy 
that is disproportionately powerful to the rest. A 
chain is only as strong as its weakest link. As it is 
well-nigh impossible to find absolute perfection of 
shape in any horse, special attention should be paid 
to those points of conformation which are essential 
for the class of work required, and to the minor fail- 
ings we may close an eye. The most we can seek is 

9 



10 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

an animal ^^with many good, few indifferent, and no 
bad points/^ It may happen, for example, that minor 
deficiencies are, to a certain degree, rendered less ob- 
jectionable by some counterbalancing good point in 
the horse's anatomy. It may even be that one fault 
is counteracted somewhat by another fault. For ex- 
ample, a horse who is somewhat light in bone below 
the knee would be less likely to fail at that point were 
he also a bit light of frame. Neither of these are ad- 
mirable in themselves, and yet the combination would 
be preferable to a horse who was Hght of bone but very 
heavily built as to his body. 

What actually constitutes a had point depends 
largely on the type of work to be demanded of the 
horse. Good points in any animal, and particularly 
in the one we are studying, are based not merely on a 
standard of ideal beauty, but on the principles of 
mechanics, and certain quahfications and proper pro- 
portions are apphcable to all types of horses — from 
the 17-hand Percheron to the Shetland pony. In- 
asmuch, however, as there are special points essential 
for special kinds of work, each class of horse — the racer, 
the hunter, and the saddle horse — differ in many points 
of conformation and gaits, and what might be admirable 
in the one would be objectionable in the other, and 
vice versa. This is the case even in horses as closely 
allied in type and work as the hunter and the hack. 
Especial emphasis will be laid on these differences 
later, but for the present we will limit ourselves to a 
discussion of those qualifications of conformation 
common to both. 

A well-shaped head should be fairly small and finely 
chiselled. The head must denote the sex of the animal; 
the male animal, and in particular the stallion, being 




1. Forehead 

2. Nose 

3. Nostril 

4. Chin groove 

5. Jowl 

6. Neck 

7. PoU 

8. Crest 

9. Windpipe 

10. Shoulder 

11. Point of shoulder 

12. Elbow 

13. Withers 

14. Forearm 

15. Knee 

16. Cannon-bone 



17. Pastern 

18. Fetlock 

19. Hoof 

20. Ribs 

21. Belly 

22. Stifle 

23. Thigh 

24. Gaskin 

25. Hock 

26. Cannon-bone 

27. Coronet 

28. Dock 

29. Croup — or crupper line 

30. Loin 

31. Back 



12 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

less delicate and more masculine in appearance than 
that of a mare. Although small, the head should be 
wide across the forehead and between the eyes. It is 
a fact that some small, well-bred heads are actually 
wider between the eyes than large, coarse heads. As 
the brain matter of a horse lies in this region this is 
particularly important. 

The angles of the jaws should be wide at the jowl 
to allow ample room for the windpipe. 

The outline of the nose may be either straight, con- 
cave (common among Arabs), or convex. The latter 
is called a '^ Roman nose,'^ and is apt to denote a head- 
strong disposition. The nostrils should be large and 
wide, for a horse breathes entirely through his nose. 

The eyes should be clear, mild, large, full, and 
prominent. Horses with sunken eyes are usually of a 
suspicious nature — probably because they cannot see 
well behind them. Small, sunken eyes (termed "pig 
eyes'O generally denote a vicious disposition, and 
should therefore be avoided. Horses who constantly 
look back at the rider, instead of boldly ahead, are apt 
to be ready for mischief; but a horse who shows the 
whites of his eyes, though he may be high-strung and 
nervous, is not necessarily vicious, as is usually sup- 
posed. 

The ears are an important indication of breeding 
and disposition. The ideal ears are comparatively 
small, evenly shaped, are not noticeably curved in or 
out, and are placed moderately far apart. Ears kept in 
constant motion denote mental activity, but when the 
motion is restless the horse is apt to be flighty and 
fidgety. Ears that are frequently laid back show a 
mean disposition and an inclination to kick or bite. 
Large mule ears, although not beautiful, are often a 



CONFORMATION AND ACTION 13 

sign of intelligence and a willing disposition, while 
^'lop" ears, flopping sidewise like those of a hare, are 
still less beautiful, but denote a placid, generous but 
slightly sluggish disposition. Very small ears, that 
are pricked inward at the points, called '' rabbit ears," 
are extremely pretty, but generally belong to a hot- 
tempered horse with a strong will of his own. 

The neck should be moderately long, and the upper 
outline should be convex rather than cancave. A 
concave neck, one that is '^put on upside down," is 
called a ewe neck. It is not only extremely ugly but 
is also, mechanically, a bad formation. Horses so 
formed are imsightly and difficult to control, as they 
are unable to flex their necks, and consequently they 
stick their noses in the air and are what is called ^'star 
gazers." On the other hand, horses whose necks are 
too much bent are generally apt to pull, inasmuch 
as they are, through this pecuHar formation, able to 
press their chins against their , chests whenever they 
feel the bit. Short thick necks are ungraceful, and 
render the animal unhandy to control, but then, again, 
horses whose necks are too thin and pUable, and too 
much cut out at the jowl, are apt to go wrong in the 
wind, owing to the fact that the breathing tubes have 
insufficient room. This type of neck is called a '^swan 
neck." The upper part of a well-shaped neck should 
be long, and, though thin when viewed from the side, 
should appear deep through when looked at from 
above. ^^The late Charley Wise, of Eton, the eminent 
dealer in the ^fifties and sixties,^ than whom no better 
judge existed, was wont to point out that the neck 
was the first place that a horse began to tire; and he 
used to insist upon the muscles just behind the poll 
being very well developed (which can be particularly 



14 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

well observed when seated on the animal), but that 
when seen sidewise the neck should appear light and 
elegant. Long subsequent experience has shown that 
he was right, and it will be noticed on the turf that no 
horse ever stays in long-distance races unless he pos- 
sesses such conformation.'^ 

It will readily be seen, then, that the formation of 
the neck, and the way in which it is set on the body, 
is not merely a matter of looks, but has considerable 
influence on the strength of the horse and on the ex- 
tent to which the bit will act on his mouth. A horse 
with a good neck and a well-set-on head will have a 
better mouth, be able to flex himseK more readily, and 
be handier than one in whom these points are lacking. 
Illustration facing page 2 shows a good neck, and a 
well-set-on and nicely shaped head. 

In all horses that are to be used for saddle work, 
fairly high and sloping withers are desirable for the 
freedom of action which they bestow. In England, 
however, a wither with more muscular development is 
preferred, since it makes it easier to keep the saddle 
in place. A horse with either an extremely low fore- 
hand, or an excessively high and straight, pointed 
wither, is extremely uncomfortable as a lady's mount. 
The latter type of wither is apt to get rubbed by the 
saddle and, owing to its sharpness, is too readily felt 
by a woman's right leg through the flap of the saddle. 

Excessively low withers usually go with a straight 
shoulder, but beginners must not confuse the wither 
with the shoulder, or vice versa. The horse in illus- 
tration facing page 2 has a wither that is neither too 
high nor yet too low. 

In a draft or harness horse there is not the same 
objection to a straight shoulder. In fact, it is the type 



CONFORMATION AND ACTION 15 

of shoulder best adapted to carrying a collar, but in a 
saddle horse or hunter the ideal shoulder is an oblique 
or slanting one. This is a fact that is well known 
even to novices, but few people ever stop to ask them- 
selves why a horse used for saddle purposes needs an 
obHque shoulder, and what really constitutes an 
obhque shoulder. This question of the proper rela- 
tion of shoulder and wither is, perhaps, the most 
difficult one for a beginnerj in the study of a horse's 
anatomy, to fully master. 

The popular notion that an obhque shoulder is 
necessary to produce speed is quite wrong. The pro- 
pelling power in a race-horse comes chiefly from behind, 
and some of our fastest track performers have upright 
shoulders. 

But race riding is a very different thing from hack- 
ing and hunting. In the former the comfort of the 
rider, perched up in his tiny saddle, is not considered 
at all, and speed alone is the essential thing. In the 
hack or the hunter the comfort of the rider and in the 
hunter the ability to jump well are of more importance 
than mere ability to cover the ground quickly. 

Now, it has been proven by long experience that an 
obHque shoulder is most favorable for the mechanical 
working of the muscles and tendons of the forehand, 
and that a horse with this formation walks, trots, and 
canters with freer action than a straight-shouldered 
animal, and is, therefore, more comfortable to ride 
and is less apt to fall if he stumbles or makes a mis- 
take at a jump. Furthermore, an oblique-shouldered 
horse is pleasanter to sit on, inasmuch as the saddle 
is thereby placed well over the centre of gravity and 
the rider has ^ Aplenty of rein in front of him.'' 

Some writers try to convince the reader that because 



16 



HACKS AND HUNTERS 



a saddle is as likely to slip forward on a horse with a 
good shoulder but a low wither, the withers are the 
main thing to be considered; and a horse with a high 
wither and a straight shoulder is preferable to one 
with an oblique shoulder and a low wither. If the 
correct position of the saddle on the horse's back were 
the only advantage derived from an oblique shoulder, 
we might concede their point, but our contention is 
that the main advantage to be gained from this forma- 
tion is the aided mechanical freedom and perfection 
of stride. 

So much for the reason why an obUque shoulder is 
preferable in a horse to be used under saddle. Let 
us now consider what really constitutes an oblique 
shoulder. 

To begin with, the shoulder is not one bone, as it is 
commonly spoken of. It consists of (a) the scapula 




Fig. 1 



A. Scapula 



Fig. 2 

B. Humerus 



Fig. 3 
C. Shoulder Joint 



Fig. 4 



or shoulder blade proper, and (h) the humerus or true 
arm. The shoulder blade hes obhquely forward from 
the withers, and joins the true arm at what is com- 
monly called ^Hhe point of the shoulder.^' The scap- 
ula should be slanting and long (see Figure 1). If it 



CONFORMATION AND ACTION 17 

is straight (see Figure 2), or short (see Figure 3), or 
straight and short (see Figure 4), there will be a me- 
chanical deficiency of power and often an unpleasant 
and lumbering gait. Moreover, with such a formation 
the saddle is liable to work forward and the rider be 
placed off the centre of gravity. 

It is, then, in this upper bone that the oft-quoted 
length and slant of the shoulder should lie. The lower 
bone, or humerus, on the contrary, should be rather 
short and straight (see Figure 1) in order to bring the 
horse's fore legs under him in the proper position. In 
a well-formed horse a line, called the perpendicular 
line, dropped from the point of the shoulder, should 
nearly touch the point of the toe. If this lower bone 
of the shoulder is too long or oblique (see Figures 2 
and 4) it will have the effect of placing the animal's 
fore legs too far under him, thus bringing his weight 
too far forward and resulting in the centre of gravity 
being as much out of line as it would be in a horse in 
whom the upper shoulder blade was straight. There- 
fore, even though a horse may have a good scapula, or 
shoulder blade, unless he also has a short, straight, and 
properly proportioned lower bone, he could not be 
said to possess a really oblique shoulder. It is in this 
respect that some people seem to confound, or rather 
interchange, the terms of what is, in truth, an obhque 
shoulder with one in which only the upper blade is 
at the correct angle but counterbalanced by the 
wrong position of the lower bone. One author says 
that it is not enough to rely on slanting shoulders, 
when it is quite as much a question of the setting on 
of the fore legs. He says, for example, ''If a horse 
has slanting shoulders and also a long, oblique, true 
arm, that brings the setting of the fore legs well back. 



18 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

you have lost all you have gained by the slanting 
shoulder/^ * This is true, but the whole point of the 
matter is that the very setting on of the fore legs is, 
in itself, a part of a good shoulder, and no shoulder 
can correctly be called a good, oblique shoulder unless 
both bones are in their relative and correct positions. 

There is, however, one point on the question of 
shoulders which is of even more importance than the 
relative lengths or positions of either bones, namely, 
that the shoulder, be it upright or obhque, is in no 
way muscle-hound, but siipple and free to move. 

Now it is one thing to know clearly what consti- 
tutes a good shoulder — in a skeleton, for example — 
and quite another matter to pick the defects of a 
shoulder in the living animal; for in the latter the bones 
are completely covered by muscles and flesh. Perhaps 
the only reliable way to become a good judge of what 
constitutes a good shoulder is by constant observation 
and by riding. In galloping down-hill, in particular, 
the horse with the obhque shoulder will give you a 
safer and quite different ^'feeP^ than a straight- 
shouldered animal. 

The chest should be deep in order to give ample 
room for the breathing organs and heart. A horse can 
never be too ^^deep through the heart,'' for this forma- 
tion not only increases the breathing capacity of the 
animal, but also, on a deep-girthed horse, the saddle 
is less apt to shp than on a shallow-chested animal. 
On the other hand, although in no way contracted, 
the chest should not appear broad, for this places the 
animal's fore legs too far apart, causes a rolling gait, 
and, under a man's saddle, spreads the rider's legs tod 
greatly. 

* "Cross Country with Horse and Hound," by Mr. F. S. Peer. 



CONFORMATION AND ACTION 19 

One usually hears the cry that a horse should be 
'^ short in the back'' and that a long back denotes 
weakness, while the reverse spells strength. In theory 
this may be all very well, but it is rather overdone in 
practice. Excepting in cases where the animal is 
expected to carry great weight, a certain amount of 
length in a horse's back is essential to speed and most 
necessary to comfort, for a horse with an excessively 
short back is apt to have a choppy way of going. The 
horse in illustration facing page 2 has a good back. 

Whether a back be long or short, it should, in all 
eases, be well-muscled up and be straight and flat. 
A hollow or ^^sway" back is most uncomfortable, de- 
notes weakness, and is liable eventually to give way 
altogether. All backs, however straight, through the 
wasting of the muscles and the constant pressure of 
weight along the top line, with age become swayed; 
but a back starting out with this formation becomes 
doubly weak. A slightly '^ro^ched" back often de- 
notes muscular development, whereas a pronounced 
roach is a detriment not only because it is unsightly 
but principally because it is apt to signify that the 
horse is muscle-bound at this point. 

The ribs should be well arched and ''run well back," 
although a horse must not be too closely ribbed. If a 
horse's ribs are not sufficiently sprung, and he is flat- 
sided, there will be insufficient room for his digestive 
organs. Horses thus formed are termed ''light in the 
barrel," and will seldom stand up to hard work. It 
is extremely difficult for the inexperienced to tell 
exactly how well ribbed up an animal is. If he is in 
poor condition they are inchned to think him light in 
the ribs, whereas the same animal, if he is fat and "fit 
for the knife," will not show the defect at all. It takes 



20 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

a clever eye to detect quickly how much is flesh and 
how much actual conformation of the animal's ribs. 

The loins of a horse should be well developed, and 
the thighs should be deep and full. While there must 
be sufficient space between the thighs to prevent fric- 
tion, a horse whose thighs lack muscular development, 
and who is ^' split up behind,'' is apt to be weak in 
these parts. When seen from the back the thighs 
should appear gradually to merge, '^V "-shaped, into 
the muscles immediately above the hocks — termed 
^^ second thighs." 

From a point of beauty the hips should be rounded 
and evenly turned, and the muscles, no matter how 
powerful they may be, should be smoothly and evenly 
laid on. Ragged hips are imsightly but are not neces- 
sarily a detriment. A dropped ^'hip," or one in which 
the muscles have shrunk, denotes a weakness and is 
to be avoided. 

The crupper hne of a well-bred horse is straight, as 
a rule; but excessively sloping nunps (goose rumps, or 
sometimes called jumping-rumps), although unsightly, 
often denote great power and jumping abihty. 

Of course it is of great importance that proportion 
exists between the hind and fore quarters of a horse, 
for if there is too great propelling power behind and 
too Httle strength in front the horse will not be well- 
balanced. Looking at the body as a whole it should 
be evenly developed, the entire ^Hop" line of the back, 
from withers to croup, should be straight without any 
undue angularities, and the entire lower line of the 
belly be more or less horizontal and neither hang down 
unduly nor yet ''be tucked up" at the waist. 

A horse should stand squarely on all fom* legs, as any 
divergence from the perpendicular places undue strain 



CONFORMATION AND ACTION 21 

on some other part of the anatomy. He should stand 
over a lot of ground, i. e., should have plenty of length 
between his fore legs and hind legs when these are 
placed evenly and squarely. Grooms, in order to give 
an idea of length are in the habit of teaching horses to 
"spread" their fore and hind legs as far apart as 
possible, with the former straddling away out in front 
and the latter almost in another county. This ridic- 
ulous and ugly trick deceives no one but a fool. 

The fore leg should be about even with a plumb-Hne 
dropped from the point of the shoulder to the point 
of the toe, and it should be flat on the sides, narrow- 
ing toward the back like a razor. The elbows should 
stand clear of the chest and not be '^tied in" toward 
the body, for an animal with this defect is bound to 
be cramped in his action, a fact very easily noticed 
when he walks away from the observer. The knees 
should be well let down, or, in other words, the 
radius or upper bone should be longer than the lower 
or cannon-bone (see horse in illustration facing page 
2). This formation will enable the hoof just to clear 
the elbow when the leg is lifted and the knee is bent 
to its limit. The bones of the forearm should be well 
supphed with muscles, and immediately above the 
knee the leg should appear broad from any angle. 
The knees in themselves are composed of many bones, 
which are best able to stand the wear and tear that 
they get if they are well formed and fairly large. 
Viewed from the front the knees should appear large, 
wide, and prominent, but from the side they should 
appear straight and flat and show no tendency to cave 
in backward (calf -kneed), nor yet forward (knee- 
sprung). The first formation causes undue strain to 
fall on the back tendons and ligaments, but the second 



22 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

defect, although unsightly, is not necessarily a sign of 
weakness. If it is a natural formation it is not so 
detrimental as the more common ''over in the knees" 
variety, which is, as a rule, a result of overwork having 
weakened the muscles of the knee. The tendons back 
of the cannon-bone should be absolutely parallel and 
should neither ''bow" outward nor be "tied in," or 
what is termed "cut out," immediately beneath the 
knee, for this predisposes to weakness in these parts. 

These tendons should be tense and hard to the touch, 
and the space between the tendon and the bone should 
look and feel "hollow." If it is filled with soft sub- 
stances it is called "gmnmy" and is not likely to stand 
up to much work. The quahty of the tendons and 
the quality as well as the quantity of the bone are 
the most important considerations in determining the 
amount of work and weight a horse is up to. The size of 
the leg has little to do with the bone, for it is the quality 
of the latter rather than its quantity that coimts. 
The bone of a thoroughbred, for example, is harder 
and denser and more nearly resembles ivory than 
that of a common horse, which is usually porous and 
of softer material. Therefore, the bone of the former 
is far stronger in proportion to its size. For this reason 
measuring a horse's leg does not always tell the whole 
story, and a good wiry bone, with clean sinew, although 
smaller in actual size, should be preferred to a larger 
bone of poorer texture surrounded by "giunmy" tissue. 

Sharply defined ankles usually accompany good bone 
and clean sinews, while "round" ankles, which merge 
without any distinct line of demarcation into the leg, 
are generally a sign of low breeding and poor bone. 

The pasterns should be neither very upright, for this 
causes a horse to be hard and stilty in his action and 




From the painting by F. \ . Vos... 

Robert L. Gerry, Esq., on Hamsah. 
By Azra out of Emily O. 



CONFORMATION AND ACTION 23 

uncomfortable to ride, nor should they be excessively 
sloping. The latter formation is apt to denote great 
speed and is very elastic, but in common with exces- 
sively short pasterns does not stand up to work very 
well and is often subject to ringbone. Illustration fac- 
ing page 2 shows a pastern sufficiently sloping to give 
an elastic tread yet strong enough to stand work. 

The forefeet, when viewed from the front, should 
turn neither out nor in, but of the two evils the latter 
is preferable; for horses whose feet turn out are apt 
to brush and interfere. Feet which are either above 
or below the average in size are apt to be brittle and 
cause foot trouble, while the possessors of very small 
feet are predisposed to stiunble. The horn or wall of 
the foot should be smooth, sound, and long enough to 
give depth of fully an inch behind. The slope of the 
horn of a perfect foot should be about 50 degrees to 
60 degrees from the ground. A greater angle pre- 
disposes to contraction, and flatter or more shallow 
feet with very low heels are liable to corns, laminitis, 
etc. The hind feet are generally more upright in 
slope than those in front (about 60 degrees). Con- 
tracted feet or those of different size, should be re- 
garded with suspicion. White feet are usually more 
predisposed to disease than dark ones. 

A rough, chipped appearance of the horn denotes 
undue brittleness, while ''rings" are usually a sign of 
disease. They are, however, sometimes seen on horses 
at grass, due to the alteration of the succulence of the 
grass at various seasons, but it takes an experienced 
eye to be able to tell grass rings from those caused by 
disease, and they should therefore be looked upon with 
suspicion until their origin can be determined and 
verified. 



24 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

The soles of the feet should be moderately concave, 
smooth, and hard, and show no scabby or chalky con- 
dition. The frog or elastic cushion in the foot should 
be clearly defined, and be soft and phable. The 
heels and bars should be neither too narrow, which 
denotes contraction, nor yet too wide, which is a sign 
of weakness. 

The same rules which apply to the forefeet apply 
equally well to the hind feet, but as a general rule the 
hind feet are less subject to disease, and while they 
should not be neglected, are not so important as the 
forefeet, which carry the greater part of the horse's 
weight. 

A well-shaped hind leg is, perhaps, one of the most 
beautiful portions of a horse's anatomy. The greatest 
length in the leg should be from the hip to the hock. 
Thirty-nine inches from point to point is considered 
desirable, and a horse can never be too ^'let down," 
nor can the portion of the leg below the hock ever be 
too short. 

Two bones, the femur and the tibia, joined together, 
form the upper part of the hind leg. The femur should 
lie obhquely forward, and the tibia obhquely back, as 
in this formation the hind leg is brought into its proper 
place. When the bones are so placed the stifle appears 
prominent and well defined. That much-to-be-desired 
thing, a good straight hind leg, means that, viewed 
from the side, the hocks and the fetlocks should he a 
very little back of a line dropped from the point of the 
buttocks. The hock, like the knee, is composed of a 
collection of small bones, and if defined and bony is 
less Hable to disease. A so-called ^' rough" hock is 
preferable to an ill-formed small one. Viewed from 
the rear the hocks should incline neither in nor out. 



CONFORMATION AND ACTION 25 

The first, termed ^^ cow-hocked" or ^'sickle-hocked/' 
is an essentially weak formation, while a horse whose 
hocks turn out travels too wide behind. Both types 
are predisposed to disease, such as curb and spavin. 

The tendons below the hock should, Hke those on 
the fore legs, be clean and rigid, resembling ''a fat 
lead-pencil laid on behind the hocks." 

The tail of a well-bred horse should be set high on 
his croup, and carried well away from the body. (See 
illustration facing page 10.) The hair should be fine 
and silky and straight. The dock or bony part of the 
tail should be firm, and when picked up should feel 
muscular and present resistance to the hold, as this 
denotes vigor and strength on the part of the animal. 

A stallion should never be purchased except for stud 
purposes. The average entire horse has great grit, 
courage, endurance, and far more intelligence than a 
gelding, but having something of a tiger in him he is 
by nature a fighting animal and will be troublesome 
on a place, and usually aggressive and dangerous to 
ride. Although there are exceptions to the rule, very 
few stalhons can be depended on, no matter how gentle 
or placid they may appear to be. 

The mare has certain advantages over the gelding 
inasmuch as she has, usually, a stronger constitution, 
and is freer from disease. From experience, I have 
found that a mare when brilliant is very brilhant, but 
she seems to possess the feminine prerogative of being 
very variable in disposition, and many people object 
to using mares on this account. Likvi the little girl 
with the curl on her forehead: 



**Wheii she is good, she is very, very good; 
But when she is bad she is horrid." 



26 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

For the novice, take it all in all, the gelding is, per- 
haps, the best. 

Aside from the above, and beyond all considerations 
of conformation, a horse should possess that indefin- 
able attribute called quality. This, in a horse, is what 
refinement is in a person. Apart from the added gain 
in looks, the question of breeding is so closely aUied to 
the nervous organization of the animal, that a well- 
bred horse is not only more sensitive and intelligent, 
and more responsive to the shghtest impression re- 
ceived from the rider, but is also more courageous, 
and has more endurance, vigor, and speed than the 
low-bred animal of twice his size. 

Good action, generally, although not always, accom- 
panies a well-formed, properly proportioned horse. 
He should move with decision, evenness, and free- 
dom, and there should be no sign of stiffness or jerki- 
ness in any one part. He should have a free, easy 
walk; should place his feet so that his shoes are worn 
down evenly, and his tread should be light, nimble, 
and make but little noise. He should Hft his feet 
sufficiently to clear all ordinary obstacles on the 
ground. 

A horse with a good, flat-footed walk is usually free 
in his other paces; whereas an animal with a cramped 
walk generally has a poor trot as well. At the trot 
the fore legs and hind legs should move freely in unity; 
the knees flexed easily, and the hocks flexed well un- 
der the body. The foot should be put to the ground 
lightly, and with precision, and should neither *^ point" 
stiffly outward nor '^ dwell" before touching the ground. 

The movement should commence from the shoulder 
and ought not to be confined merely to the knees. 
These, although not excessively flexed, should be suffi- 



CONFORMATION AND ACTION 27 

ciently bent to prevent the leg from swinging stiflfly 
like a pendulum. 

Dealers resort to many different devices in order to 
produce action artificially, such as shoeing the horse 
heavily, etc. The prospective purchaser should demand 
to see the animal walked, jogged slowly and quiet- 
ly with a loose head. He should also stand squarely 
in front of the animal and watch him as he trots toward 
him and away from him. From the front he will be 
best able to observe if a horse dishes or ^^ paddles," 
^. e., throws his forefeet out to the side instead of 
placing them squarely down in front of him. From 
the rear the purchaser can readily see the action of 
the hind legs. These should pass about two to four 
inches clear of each other, for if they are closer than 
this, the horse will be hable to '^interfere" or ''brush,'' 
and if further apart he will be sure to straddle in his 
gait. In other words, viewed from the front the 
animaFs fore legs should, at ^ trot, eclipse the hind 
legs, and from the rear the hind legs obscure the fore. 

At a canter or gallop the horse must bring his hind 
legs well under his body, and his feet should move 
low to the ground. The reverse of this is called 
*' climbing, '^ and a horse with such a canter is usually 
deficient in speed. 

After the prospective purchaser has seen a horse 
led by the head at a walk and trot, and then ridden at 
the trot, canter, and gallop, he should mount the animal 
and ride him about to ascertain if his gaits are com- 
fortable, and if they suit. What might be comforta- 
ble for one person would be very uncomfortable for 
another. 

A horse with a poor carriage and mediocre gaits can, 
undoubtedly, be gradually improved by good riding 



28 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

and suppling exercises, but unless the purchaser is an 
expert, it is best to give up any idea of ''reforming^' a 
horse. For the same reason horses who are shown with 
sharp or queer-looking bits, because they are supposed 
'Ho go better that way,'^ should be looked upon with 
suspicion by all but the experienced. 

Horses that stiunble, balk, pull, pitch, or rear should 
never be considered unless they are marvels at their 
particular game and the prospective purchaser is an 
experienced rider. Playful bucking and kicking, as 
long as it does not degenerate into real pitching, may 
be overlooked by a good rider, but I cannot too strongly 
advise a woman to reject a rearer at all costs. By 
rearer I do not mean a horse who occasionally plunges, 
or who playfully goes up a few inches off the ground 
when restrained (although this habit, if not properly 
handled, can easily develop into rearing). But a real 
rearer should not be taken, even as a gift, by any right- 
minded woman. I have ridden many myself, and 
thoroughly disliked the job, for it is the most danger- 
ous vice that a woman's horse can possess. She has 
hardly any chance to get away if he falls over back- 
ward. 

When the purchaser has thoroughly considered the 
horse and finds that he suits as to conformation, gaits, 
and manners, he should next examine the animal for 
blemishes and unsoundness. Horses with curbs, spa- 
vin, ring or side bones, those touched in the wind, or 
about which there is the slightest rumor that they may 
be subject to '^ staggers," should be rejected. The 
degree of suspicion with which splints should be looked 
upon depends entirely upon their position on the bones, 
and the stage of growth which they have acquired. 
It would be very risky to purchase a young horse with 



CONFORMATION AND ACTION 29 

splints in their formative period, and in particular if 
they are up near the knee, where they may impinge 
upon the joint, or so far back on the leg that they may 
interfere with the ligaments and tendons; on the other 
hand, an older horse of eight or nine, possessing an 
already-formed splint, which is low on the leg, might 
be bought with comparative safety. 

In many cases, of course, the word of a veterinary 
will have to be taken as to the exact degree which any 
defect in wind, eyes, or limbs will affect the service- 
ability of the animal. Although it is well for any 
horseman or horsewoman to learn the more conmion 
forms of unsoundness, no horse should ever be pur- 
chased without being passed by a competent veterinary. 
Even if buying from a friend, this rule should always 
be closely observed, for by so doing all possibihties of 
ill-feeling over the deal will be removed, and no doubts 
need arise in the purchaser's mind as to the friend's 
integrity should the horse go unsound at some later 
date. 



CHAPTER III 
THE MODEL SADDLE HORSE 

"Nothing is really finished until it is beautiful." 

Soundness, good conformation, level gaits,' a grac^ 
ful carriage, and an air of breeding, as well as many of 
the minor points which we have been discussing in the 
last chapter, are essential for any sort of horse; be he 
hack or hunter, but there are certain special qualifica- 
tions which differentiate the hack from the hunter; cer- 
tain points more necessary to one type of work than 
to the other. 

For example, in the hunter we demand strength, 
speed, and ability to perform over fences. Appear- 
ance, with the possible exception of the '^show^^ hunter, 
is but a secondary consideration. On the other hand, 
in the hack* comfortable gaits, manners, training and 
good looks are the prime requisites, while in the show 
hack even gaits and manners seem entirely and com- 
pletely secondary to '4ooks'^ — and ^^ooks" alone. 
This is particularly true in this coimtry where the 
judges at horse shows seldom, if ever, ride the exhibits 
to test their paces. 

However, in the model hack we should demand that 
to looks be added good gaits and good manners. Looks 
'alone are not sufficient, for if the animal does not give' 
you a good ride he fails in his first duty. On the other 
hand, mere comfortable gaits in a horse do not con- 
stitute him a hack. If that were the case many hunt- 

* The word "hack" probably originated in the Andalusian "jaca," 
pronounced "haca," which denoted the common horse of the country. 

30 



THE MODEL SADDLE HORSE 31 

ers, hundreds of polo ponies, or in fact any fairly decent- 
looking horse that allowed itself to be quietly ridden 
along the road and had nice gaits might be termed 
the perfect hack. The model hack is a creation, per se, 
and he must possess at least in some small degree all 
those quahfications which, raised to the ^^nth^' degree 
of perfection proclaim the show hack. If this self- 
same horse can hunt, can race, or do light harness 
work, so much the better, but above all and beyond 
all else his saddle qualities must be the first to be con- 
sidered, and everything else be subservient to them. 

We will in this ensuing chapter endeavor to por- 
tray a horse representing the highest standard of per- 
fection for a hack. In general outline the ^' beau ideal '' 
of a hack should be smoothly rounded with a fine top 
line. Angularities of any kind, while permissible in 
the hunter, are undesirable in the hack. 

He must be more or less ^ ^ showy '^ in his carriage, 
and although he must, under no circumstances, carry 
a high ^^harnessy" head, his neck, which must be long 
enough to allow of ^ Aplenty of rein," should be shghtly 
and gracefully arched. Above all, it must come out 
of his body properly and with the upper outline nicely 
convexed. A ewe neck on a hack is an abomination. 
The head itself should be small and well-shaped, and 
the ears small and alert. Lop or mule ears may pass 
in a first-class hunter, but they are not permissible in 
a hack. The withers should be fairly high and sloping, 
and above all, as already stated, the shoulders must be 
oblique if the animal is to possess low, even, and 
smooth gaits. Straight shoulders produce a harnessy 
trot and stilty canter. The body should be well 
ribbed up, with the ribs nicely arched, but the hack 
should not be too closely ^'coupled'' or he will not 



32 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

be comfortable to ride. His back must be straight, 
and if he is to be used by a woman it should, for com- 
fort's sake, err on the longish side. 

Although it is not as necessary for a hack to possess 
the same degree of bone and sinew as a hunter, never- 
theless, his legs must by all means be able to stand 
the wear and tear of ordinary riding. Fairly elastic, 
sloping pasterns and well-shaped feet are of great im- 
portance, as much of his work has to be done at a 
'^'ammer, 'ammer, 'ammer on the 'ard 'ighroad." 

The hack's crupper line should be straight and 
smoothly turned, and his hips even and nicely rounded. 
Goose rumps, roached backs, and ragged hips are allow- 
able only in a hunter. He should have a straight hind 
leg* and a well-set-on dock that is carried preferably 
well away from the body in a graceful arch. This 
carriage is often artificially produced by cutting some 
muscles in the dock. If well done by an experienced 
surgeon it often proves satisfactory, but there is always 
a certain risk attending it that the horse's appearance 
will be ruined by a crooked tail carriage. Therefore, 
unless the horse is very under-bred, or actually hugs 
his dock to his body, I would not advise tampering 
with it. 

The proper height for the model hack that is to be 
ridden by the average man or women is from 15 hands 
to 15.3. Anything under this size would be consid- 
ered a pony, but if a horse is light, breedy, and springy 
in gait, anything up to 16 hands is permissible. Of 
course the height of the horse must at all times depend 
largely on the size of the rider. A woman with what 

* It must not be forgotten, however, that an extremely straight hind 
leg is not very conducive to much hock action, and is, therefore, more 
to be desired in a hunter than in a hack. 




From a photograph by Rouch. 

F. Vivian Gooch, Esq., on Turquoise. 



THE MODEL SADDLE HORSE 33 

might be politely termed a '^ comfortable'^ figure should 
ride either a stocky cob of 15.2, or a big rangy horse of 
16.1, for nothing looks so foolish as a heavy woman 
perched on a thin, weedy Httle animal, who appears 
as if he were going to break in the middle under his load. 
On the other hand, a httle ^^ pocket Venus" woman 
would look like a tomtit on a rail if mounted on any- 
thing much over 15.2 or 15.3. 

Color is largely a matter of personal preference, but 
for saddle work, pure and simple, we usually find that 
bays, chestnuts, and sorrels are the best. Blacks "clip 
out" poorly, and are, therefore, not desirable, and 
grays are not in favor owing to the fact that the hairs 
come off on clothes and rugs. In the show ring in 
ladies' classes, other things being equal, a gray will 
not be as favorably looked upon as a horse of a darker 
color. Of course, there are many gray show cham- 
pions, past and present, who do not seem to have been 
handicapped by their color, but this is generally owing 
to the fact that they have outclassed the other horses 
in every other regard. Piebalds, skewbalds, duns, 
and roans are generally found in under-bred horses, 
and are not accepted saddle colors; they rarely stand 
a chance in the show ring, although, with the excep- 
tion of the piebald, they often make smart-looking 
country hacks. To my mind the piebald has no pos- 
sible use except for the circus ring. 

In all sohd colors the deeper and more decided the 
shade the better, and in all cases the richness and 
depth of the color should extend even to the legs and 
tail. For the depth of the pigment is dependent on 
the heat and circulation of the body, and washy ex- 
tremities are apt to denote a weak constitution. In 
other cases, light, washy-looking hairs on the legs and 



34 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

tail of an otherwise breedy horse signify common par- 
entage or draft blood. 

White ankles and white feet are, as a rule, more 
dehcate and liable to disease than dark ones, a fact 
which may have given rise to the foolish old jingle: 
'^Four white feet and a white nose; cut off his head 
and give him to the crows," etc. Nevertheless, in 
horses of soUd color, white ankles, one or two white 
stockings, and a snip or streak on the animaFs face 
give a snappy appearance. Such markings must not, 
however, be too conspicuous, nor should the white 
stockings proceed at any point above the hock, for 
this is considered too flashy and wdll count against a 
horse in the show ring. 

A hack should have a good, flat-footed walk, capable 
of covering four miles an hour, and a lady's hack, 
above all, never should ^^ jiggle. '^ Few men reaUze 
how tiring and annoying this habit is to a woman. 
Stumbling (unless found to be the result of poor 
shoeing rather than defective conformation) may pos- 
sibly be pardoned in the hunter but never tolerated 
in a hack; even though the horse may have a good- 
enough shoulder to save himseK from falling when he 
stumbles, he will, nevertheless, be an impleasant 
mount. 

The trot should be quick and nimble, not the ex- 
tended flying gait suited to the trotting track, but one 
in which the horse's hocks are well under him and his 
feet lifted gracefully and Hghtly. The motion of the 
fore legs should come chiefly from the shoulder, and 
the knees should be hghtly, but not tightly, flexed. 

High action, particularly if the knees are tightly 
flexed, is not conducive to comfort in the saddle; is 
harnessy in appearance, and a horse possessing it not 



THE MODEL SADDLE HORSE 35 

only pounds his feet on the ground but l^pcomes 
fatigued very quickly, due to the unnecessary expendi- 
ture of energy. 

Many of our present-day show horses are *^ unable 
to get out of their own way'' and trot up and down 
almost in the same place, a fault which should never 
be tolerated. The other extreme: excessively low 
action, is equally bad, for a good hack should not 
'^ point/' 'Mwell," nor move stiffly with such low, 
straight-kneed action as to be what is termed a ^^ daisy 
cutter." 

The hock action is also of great importance. He 
should imder no circumstances drag his hocks, but 
should use them with alacrity and snap. A woman's 
horse in particular should have sufficient hock action 
to assist her rising easily. Many a hack that is quite 
comfortable for a man, in this regard, is deficient from 
a woman's point of view. 

The horse in illustration facing page 36 shows a 
hack moving with quite sufficient knee and hock ac- 
tion to win in any show ring. 

To all real horsemen or horsewomen the canter is 
the gait par excellence of the ideal hack. It should be 
the poetry of motion — the slower the better, and low 
to the ground. A well-broken hack should be able to 
'^canter all day in the shade of an old apple-tree." 
Nor do I mean by a slow canter an ambhng, lazy sort 
of lope, but rather the cultivated gait of the horse 
who is willing to curb his ambition, and, at the demand 
of his master, puts all his energy into a five-mile-an- 
hour gait. 

The canter is presumed by most people to be merely 
a slow gallop, but, mechanically speaking, it has no re- 
lation to the gallop. A horse going a slow twelve-mile- 



36 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

an-hour gallop is not cantering. The canter proper 
is about a five or six mile an hour gait, and is produced 
by training the individual horse to rein back from 
the three-beat gallop. 

'^Manners Makyth Man," the motto of Winchester 
College, England, is as applicable to horses as it is to 
men. Manners most certainly do '^make" the horse! 

The perfect hack should be broken to a double 
bridle, and should go well '^up into" it — that is, he 
should feel of and play with the bit without pulling. 
A horse that pulls, bores or sticks his nose out, is not 
worth anything as a hack. His mouth, on the con- 
trary, should be as light as possible and responsive 
to the gentlest touch. The moment you pick up the 
reins he should '^give you his head" and keep it in 
position throughout the ride. He should, of course, 
be bridle-wise, i. e., guided by the pressure of the reins 
on the neck, and should also be broken to the aids — 
the leg, the spur, and the whip — so that at a touch he 
can readily be brought to hand and collected. A well- 
broken hack should, at a moment's notice, be able to 
break directly from a walk, or even from a standstill, 
into this smooth canter, leading on either leg desired. 
But he should never break without being given the 
signal. The abiUty to lead with either leg and at a 
hght touch to change legs on a figure eight, or even 
on a straight line, should be a part of every hack's 
education. It is an additional advantage if he has 
been taught to handle his feet properly and can ''tra- 
verse" (move sidewise at a walk) at least two or three 
steps without effort. 

He should be willing to stand quietly with the reins 
loose on his neck while being mounted. (This is par- 
ticularly desirable in a lady's horse.) He must be 



THE MODEL SADDLE HORSE 37 

willing, in company or alone, to back; to change his 
gaits from walk to trot or canter without flurry or 
mixing himself. In fact, although full of fire and 
gaiety, he must be so trained that all his desires are 
subservient to the rider's wants and comforts. 

And yet, perfectly trained though he may be, if he 
is well-bred and high-strung, you must expect him 
occasionally to play and frisk. Nor should playful 
romping, an occasional squeal or buck when coming 
out of the stable on a frosty morning, or upon hearing 
some startling sound, be charged against him, even 
in the show ring. After all, what we want is not a 
''machine," but a living, sentient animal, trained to 
respect our wishes. 

A horse as well made and trained as I have above 
depicted will undoubtedly be hard to find anywhere 
in America, for the simple reason that the average 
American knows little, and cares less, about what 
really constitutes a well-broken saddle horse, and 
never troubles himself about '' bitting '^ or ''making" 
an animal. 

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, and 
men like Emile Anthony, Wilham McGibbon, J. H. 
Collins, Robert Moreland, Walter Baker, Chas. Butler, 
and the late Chas. Railey and Jimmy Schweiger,* to 
say nothing of Mrs. John Gerken and Miss Belle Beach, 
have always appreciated a well-broken animal, and 
know how to "make" them as well as any foreigner. 
But these men are in the minority, and the horses they 
have broken soon lose all they have learned by the 
slovenly riding of their customers. 

The average American show horse, considered 

* Not to mention such expert horsemen of foreign birth as Ernest 
Fownes, Geo. von Kalowski. 



38 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

broken, according to our idea, would to men like 
Vivian Gooch, of England, or Colonel Feline, of France, 
seem merely a green one. Comparisons may be in- 
vidious, but they are often interesting as well as in- 
structive, and surely may be pardoned if they point 
a moral. For example, I have, when in England, 
ridden horses schooled by Mr. Gooch, which I consid- 
ered so well broken that I marvelled at them, and yet 
which he smilingly referred to as not yet being half 
finished and requiring many more months of tuition 
before being ready to show. Then, again, when I 
first went over to ride at Olympia for the late Mr. 
Walter Winans, I telephoned Mr. Gooch, who was 
training his horses, informing him of my arrival, and 
asking when I might go out to Windsor to try the 
horses prior to the show. I was told, much to my 
surprise, that this was quite unnecessary, and that all 
I need do was to appear at Ol3niipia fifteen minutes 
before my class was to be called. In other words, the 
horses I was expected to ride were so perfectly broken 
that they needed no preliminary schooling, and when I 
arrived at Olympia I found that my horse, ^'Turquoise" 
(see illustration facing page 32), went as superbly as if I 
had ridden him all my fife. He was so perfectly broken 
that all he needed in order to do his best was merely 
to have his rider on his back! He walked, trotted, 
cantered, held his head in its proper place, changed 
leads at a touch, and even did the Spanish Walk out 
of the ring when he won his blue. Whereas, over here, 
when I am asked to show a so-called show horse, I 
am obliged to give it hours of work prior to the show, 
endeavoring to teach it the rudiments of changing 
leads or some other simple little thing, which to a 
really broken horse should be second nature. Such 



THE MODEL SADDLE HORSE 39 

horses win in the ring only because the rider happens 
to be an old hand at the game and can camouflage 
their faults from the judges, but in no sense of the 
word are they really broken. 

In referring to my experience in England, I do not 
for a. moment wish to imply that riding a horse prior 
to a show is unnecessary. On the contrary, even in 
this case I think that ^'Turquoise" would have gone 
even better, if that were possible, had he and I been 
acquainted longer. But what I do want to emphasize 
is that if the horse is really ''made," any riding prior 
to a show is merely supposed to be an introduction of 
horse and rider and not a gruelling lesson in the rudi- 
ments of saddle work. 

Horses, broken as well as ''Turquoise," are, of course, 
rare in any country, but they are more apt to be found 
in England than here, and still more apt to be foimd 
in France. The Enghshman, on the whole, is a hunt- 
ing and racing man, and pays less attention to the 
making of so-called "school" horses than the French 
officer who has reduced it to a science. For although 
the French civihans, on the whole, are not horsemen, 
the militaire of France are responsible for some of the 
most highly finished horses in the world. Even F. 
Vivian Gooch, who holds the palm among EngHsh 
horsemen in the art of making a saddle horse, will 
admit, I am sure, that he owes many of his methods to 
the French; and I think that any one who has ever 
seen an exhibition of horsemanship by the picked 
officers of Saumur will agree that it is a sight long to 
be remembered and difficult, if not impossible, to 
equal anywhere. 

Not all of us can hope to possess a horse broken by 
a Saumur officer, a Colonel Feline, or a Mr. Gooch, 



40 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

but every one of us can learn from such an exhibition 
what really constitutes a well-broken animal and, in 
training our American saddle horses, imitate them as 
much as possible. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE THOROUGHBRED VERSUS THE 
KENTUCKY SADDLE HORSE* 

"Pouter, tumbler and fantail are from the same source; 
The racer and hack may be traced to one horse; 
So men were developed from monkeys, of course, 
Which nobody can deny." 

— Lord Charles Neaves. 

Having determined what constitutes the ^^ model" 
hack, our next question is to decide what breed of 
horse is most Hkely to supply us with what we want; 
for the breeding of an animal tells us, more than any 
physical feature, what he will be like, what he will 
do, and what he is capable of. The first question of 
any successful horse breeder and buyer is '^How is he 
bred?" and according to tlie answer the animal's 
value is largely measured. 

Scientists are not yet quite agreed among them- 

*The word "thoroughbred" is so often erroneously used that to 
avoid any ambiguity arising from the use of the word in the following 
chapter I think it wise to state quite clearly the authorized meanings 
of the following terms: 

Thoroughbred. The term applies only to the breed of "running'* 
horses eligible to registration in the stud-books of America, England, 
or affiliated stud-books for thoroughbreds in other countries. A horse 
is eUgible for such registration only if he can trace his pedigree in all 
his lines to animals recorded in such stud-books. There is a prevalent 
misapprehension that a certain munber of thoroughbred ''top crosses" 
entitle an animal to such registration. 

It is readily seen that there is no such thing as a "thoroughbred 
Kentucky horse." This is a misnomer. Don't say "thoroughbred" 
unless you mean it. 

A horse that is very nearly thoroughbred (or one with a sHght stain 
on his pedigree which prevents his being eUgible for registration in 
the stud-book) is designated in England as a "blood horse." 

Pure-Bred. The term pure-bred is what many people mean when 
they say "thoroughbred." A pure-bred animal is one of pure breed- 

41 



42 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

selves as to the exact proportions that the factors of 
heredity and environment play in the human character, 
for in dealing with humans things are more or less 
complicated by the third factor of the human will, 
to which both heredity and environment are subser- 
vient. But in the animal world the will plays a minor 
part, and environment is almost as neghgible an 
influence. The determining factor is undoubtedly 
heredity. 

Coming to the question of breeds among horses, we 
find that in the American saddle world there is no 
more hotly contested argument than the one as to 
which breed — or more broadly construed — which type 
of horse is best suited for saddle work and best ful- 
fils the aforementioned requirements of conformation, 
gaits, and manners. 

The Arab, the Morgan, even the Standard bred, all 
have their votaries, but the main controversy consists 
between the advocates of the thoroughbred type of 
horse and the Kentucky bred. I personally beheve 
that the thoroughbred is the heau ideal of what a 
saddle horse should be. But in believing this I hope 

ing, representing a recognized type, both of whose parents were pure- 
bred animals of the same breed. For example, the Kentucky horse, 
the hackney, and the Arab, all (when unadulterated with another 
cross or breed) are pure breds. To be considered pure-bred Live stock 
must, of course, be registered, or, in the absence of such registration, 
be eligible for such registration in the respective stud-books of the 
breed. In this sense of the word a ''thoroughbred" is also a pure- 
bred, but there is no need in his case to apply the word, for, whereas 
there are many hackneys or Kentucky horses who are not sufficiently 
pure-bred to be eligible to their stud-books, no thoroughbred is a 
thoroughbred unless he is ehgible. In no case can one ever reverse the 
statement and say that since a thoroughbred is a pure-bred, a pure- 
bred is a thoroughbred. The rule does not work both ways. 

Standard Bred. This term refers to a distinct breed of pure-bred 
American hght-harness horses (both trotters and pacers), who are eUgi- 
ble to American Trotting Registry. 



THOROUGHBRED VS. KENTUCKY HORSE 43 

that I am not so hidebound by prejudice as to be 
unwilling to admit that each and every breed has its 
good points as well as its bad, and that there are many 
splendid hacks of all breeds. A good hack is a good 
hack no matter how he is bred, and a good Kentucky- 
bred saddler is preferable to a poor thoroughbred. In 
order to come to any fair conclusion, unbiassed by per- 
sonal feeling, one must go into the matter most care- 
fully and never forget that ^^intolerance is but another 
name for ignorance. '' 

It is deplorable as well as ridiculous that in some 
circles horsemen are so intolerant of each other's pet 
hobbies and favorite types that the '^ racing" enthu- 
siast will sneer at the ^Hrotting" devotee, and the 
'^hunting" man think the ^'school" rider rather an 
idiot. In the saddle horse world the lover of the 
thoroughbred is too apt, without giving any real 
thought to the matter, to disregard the Kentucky 
horse's claims to beauty and usefulness, and vice 
versa. Let us, therefore, in comparing the various 
breeds and types endeavor to divest ourselves of all 
prejudice, and remember that in judging horses as in 
judging men and events there is no quicker way to 
acquire true wisdom than learning to look at things 
from another's point of view. 

The merits and demerits of the Standard bred and 
Arab are as follows: 

The Standard Bred. The Standard-bred horse, 
pure and simple, without any intermixture of outside 
blood, as a rule has too harsh and violent a trot ever 
to make a good saddle horse.* His canter, at which 

* There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, and out of hundreds 
of trotters Mr. G. K. G. Billings has been able to pick a number who 
give you an excellent ride at the trot. 



44 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

gait he is most loath to travel, is high and pounding, 
owing undoubtedly to the fact that he has a somewhat 
different hock and far longer femur and tibia than 
other horses. These, although they enable him to 
reach farther backward in the act of propulsion in 
the trot, also necessitate his rotating his whole leg 
outward in order to bring it well under him. 

The Arab. The Arab, to whom we owe a great 
debt as the founder of the thoroughbred family, has 
undoubtedly great inteUigence and tremendous stamina. 
From earHest time he has been raised with one idea — 
to carry his master through all vicissitudes of the ele- 
ments, and this has produced endurance, courage, and 
hardiness, while constant companionship with man has 
resulted in extraordinary sagacity and docility. But 
in spite of these excellent quahties of disposition, his 
conformation, gaits, and speed leave much to be de- 
sired. He is usually pictured by artists as being built 
along magnificent lines, with a graceful, curved neck. 
With few exceptions, however, the average Arab is 
not nearly as beautiful or so gracefully turned as pic- 
tures have led us to imagine. His neck is generally 
short, and his head carried high with his nose stuck 
out in front. His shoulders are often good, but his 
withers are too low, broad, and roimded to suit our 
ideas of saddle conformation. Moreover, the chief 
objection to the use of the Arab for general saddle 
work is his size. The caste Arab stands only 14.1 
hands. He is undoubtedly able to carry very heavy 
loads, as has been demonstrated time and time again, 
but few full-grown men or women would look well on 
a horse barely above pony size. Under the Orient's 
sunny skies a man gloriously arrayed in Bedouin's 
clothes, mounted on an Arab, may please the eye, but 



THOROUGHBRED VS. KENTUCKY HORSE 45 

the effect is less pleasing when we bestride the Arab, 
clad in more modern, and less colorful, attire. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore A. Dodge, who has 
travelled the world over and seen horses in all coun- 
tries, says in ^^ Riders in Many Lands" in regard to 
the Arab's gaits: ^^He has but two which may be 
called perfect — the walk and the gallop. His flat- 
footed walk is xmdeniably good. His amble or rack 
is good, but neither rapid nor even and reUable in 
individuals. He has rarely a canter proper; he always 
gallops." 

On the whole, the Arab of to-day is merely what 
he was four or five centuries ago. He has remained 
stationary, while his descendant, the thoroughbred, 
has advanced in conformation, speed, and stature, so 
that one would scarcely beHeve that they were of the 
same ancestry. In fact, to breed to an Arab is con- 
sidered by some English and American breeders to be 
'^breeding back" and throwing away all that has been 
gained by the centuries. In any case, the breeding 
of pure-bred Arabs in America is not likely ever to 
become very extensive, owing to the fact that it is 
well-nigh next to impossible to obtain pure Arab 
mares from their source, and that the inherent lack of 
fertihty in the breed when imported makes the breed- 
ing of Arabs over here more or less of an economic 
failure. Though Arabs have been imported and bred 
in America since 1856, there are, at the time this 
volume goes to press, only 283 living registered Ara- 
bians in this country.* 

We now come to the main body of the controversy, 

* Three hundred and sixty-three Arabians are registered, but of this 
number eighty are known to be dead. The 1920 foals have not been 
registered as yet. 



46 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

i. e.y as to whether the thoroughbred type or the 
Kentucky type of horse is best suited for saddle work. 
We use this word type advisedly, inasmuch as in our 
discussion we mean to include the horses in which 
thoroughbred blood, or Kentucky blood, predominates, 
even though they may not be eligible for their re- 
spective stud-books. In comparing the conformation 
of the two types we find, first, that the Kentucky 
saddler has a comparatively short neck, which rises 
abruptly and sharply at the withers. He carries a 
high, peacocky head. According to the Kentucky 
standard, ''the neck is lifted in a graceful arch so that 
the head is about as high as that of the rider's." His 
back is short, he is extremely closely coupled and in- 
clined to be leggy, while his shoulders are usually 
straight instead of oblique. In contrast to this the 
thoroughbred type of horse has a long, fine neck, 
which can be carried in just as graceful a style as that 
of the Kentucky horse, but which slopes gradually 
from the shoulders, enabling him to carry a moder- 
ately low head. His back is longer, and although 
there are many thoroughbreds racing to-day who 
possess straight shoulders, it is easier on an average 
to find the obhque shoulder suitable for saddle work 
among thoroughbreds than among Kentucky horses. 

If we regard this difference of conformation piirely 
and simply from the standpoint of looks, we will, I 
am sure, readily concede that, although the Kentucky 
saddler, with flowing mane and tail, is artistically a 
pretty picture, from a '^ riding'' point of view he re- 
sembles too closely the conformation of the harness 
horse. Glance, for example, at the three pictm-es in 
this chapter of a first-class hackney, Kentucky saddler, 
and thoroughbred. 



THOROUGHBRED VS. KENTUCKY HORSE 47 

On the Kentucky horse the rider has no length of 
rein in front of him; he is, owing to the straight shoulder 
and general form of the horse, perched away in front 
of the centre of gravity, very much in the way that 
he would be seated if riding a hackney. As we have 
already seen in the last chapter, the straight shoulder 
is far less apt to produce smooth and easy gaits than 
the obHque shoulder. In fact, the gaits of the Ken- 
tucky horse would, owing to this formation, be almost 
as hard and stilty as the harness horse were they not 
softened and rendered more springy by his extremely 
long and sloping pasterns, which undoubtedly lessen 
the concussion of his trot. It is, however, impossible 
to discuss the moot question as to whether the Ken- 
tucky or the thoroughbred type of horse has the 
most comfortable gaits without first differentiating 
between the five-gaited and the three-gaited Kentucky 
saddler. 

Originally the Kentucky horse was bred chiefly as 
a five-gaited animal. Life on the Southern plantation 
demanded that a man be in the saddle all day and 
every day, and an animal with easy, comfortable, and 
swift gaits was more than merely a luxury; he was an 
economic necessity. Without going too deeply into 
the history of the breed, suffice it to say that in 1850 
by the crossing of thoroughbred stallions and pacing 
mares (who in their turn are also descended from the 
thoroughbred) the Kentucky-bred saddler originated. 
The '^pace/' pure and simple, was artificially turned 
into the running walk and the rack or single-foot. 
The rack is known as the single-foot for the reason that 
in this gait no two feet strike the ground at the same 
time, and as the majority of horses do not like to 
travel at this gait it is one that is difficult to teach. 



48 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

In a small percentage of five-gaited horses the running 
walk is substituted by the slow pace, or fox-trot. 

There is no denying that at these artificial gaits the 
Kentucky horse is extremely easy to ride, and we have 
no quarrel with the old-fashioned Southerner who 
claims for his horse the easiest paces in all the world. 
In the rack, for example, there is scarcely any motion 
of the rider's body, and one could almost ride to a 
dinner or a dance in one's evening clothes, without 
danger of being in the least rumpled up or overheated. 
One can then scarcely blame the Southerner for at one 
time rather pitying EngHshmen for indulging in so 
uncomfortable a gait as a trot.* 

These comfortable artificial gaits, however, are ex- 
tremely difficult to keep pure and free from mixing, and 
unless the horse is always ridden by an expert — and 
sometimes even then — they degenerate into a horrible 
hodgepodge of mixed gaits. Even when performed at 
its best, I do not think that the rack or running walk 
can be considered anything but a rather ugly and un- 
gainly gait to look at. Nevertheless, there is no doubt 
that, as a five-gaited animal, the Kentucky horse is 
very popular in some sections of the coimtry, as is 
readily evidenced by the huge prices paid for good 
specimens of the kind, as well as by the enormous 
crowds he draws at exhibitions in the South, where he 
competes for colossal stakes. It would, therefore, be 
extremely narrow-minded to condenm flat-footedly a 
horse so popular in the South because he does not 

* At one time the trot was called "Le trot Anglais," inasmuch aa 
the Continental, the Arab, as well as all horsemen of the Orient always 
either walked or galloped; the Southerner racked or single-footed; the 
Westerner loped on his cow-pony, and it was only the English, who 
to-day rarely ride at any other gait but a canter, who trotted and 
originated "rising" to the trot as we know that gait to-day. 



THOROUGHBRED VS. KENTUCKY HORSE 49 

happen to conform to our idea of what a saddle horse , 
should be; but I do, nevertheless, firmly beheve that as 
an acquired taste he will never grow in popularity in 
the North, and will everywhere become less and less 
of a favorite as people become interested in sport. 
With his harnessy action and peacocky appearance he 
is seldom apt to 'Hake'' in a sporting community. 
Somehow it would seem almost as incongruous to see 
a hunting woman perched up on a five-gaited Ken- 
tucky saddler as it would be to see her appear on a 
''milk-white palfrey," arrayed in the flowing skirt and 
beplumed hat of Queen Elizabeth's time. 

So much for the five-gaited saddler; let us now con- 
sider him in the form of a simple three-gaited hack. 
As such he is no longer what might be termed a ''fancy 
breed," but enters into direct competition with the 
thoroughbred type of horse. 

Being of the same breed as the five-gaited horse he, 
of course, has the harnessy appearance and carriage 
of body which we have already criticised. No longer 
possessing the easy artificial gaits which make the 
former comfortable as a hack, his remaining three 
gaits, owing to his straight shoulders, are rarely as 
comfortable as in a horse of the thoroughbred type. 
Since he has been bred for decades for saddle work, 
he is usually well-mannered and willing to walk quietly 
in a flat-footed manner and, at the same time, less apt 
to stub his toes than the lower-actioned thoroughbred; 
but he is inclined to "paddle" or "wing" at the walk -^/t/^ 
as well as in the trot. At this latter gait his action is 
hard with excessively high knee and hock action, and 
is bound to give the rider far more work or exercise 
than the smooth trot of the thoroughbred, which is 
quite high enough to be graceful and in a few cases even 



50 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

brilliant. The illustrations facing pages 36 and 86 are 
of thoroughbred hacks, and one can readily see that 
their knee action is quite sufficient. 

When it comes to the canter I think few riding men 
or women will hesitate to agree that in this gait, above 
all others, the thoroughbred so far excels as to be in a 
class by himself. Comparatively easy though the 
canter of a perfectly trained Kentucky horse may be, 
it is always secondary to his trot, whereas in the thor- 
oughbred exactly the reverse is the case. In the latter, 
though his trot is also usually smooth and easy to 
rise to, it is less perfect than his canter, and herein 
lies the crux of the whole matter. 

Do you want to ride for exercise, to shake your liver, 
or reduce your avoirdupois? If you do, by all means 
ride the Kentucky horse, for his hard snappy trot will 
be best suited to your need. On the contrary, if you 
wish to ride purely for the joy of the ride, for comfort 
and relaxation and pleasure, then choose the thorough- 
bred. Thus, by a curious trick of fate the very 
animal, once famed in his five-gaited form for easy 
paces, in his three-gaited form is ranged, in the present 
controversy between exercise and comfort, on the side 
of exercise. 

For the EngHshman there is no argument at all as 
to which gait is preferable. Even if the thoroughbred 
had a very poor trot instead of a moderately good one, 
he would still prefer him above all other breeds, if only 
because of his canter. The Enghsh may have been 
the first to practise rising to the trot to any extent, 
and they still undoubtedly appreciate the virtue of a 
trot; nevertheless, when out hacking for pleasure they 
seldom, if ever, use any other gait but a canter. They 
don't want to exercise when hacking; they get their 



THOROUGHBRED VS. KENTUCKY HORSE 51 

exercise in indulging in other vigorous sports, and they 
hack for comfort and relaxation. I remember that 
the first time I ever rode in Rotten Row, Hyde Park, 
I seemed to be the only person in the Row who ever 
trotted, and yet for an American I use that gait very 
rarely. To them, and I quite agree with them, a 
good canter is the raison d'etre for hacking. And they 
quite naturally, therefore, consider the thoroughbred 
the ideal of what a hack should be. Those EngHsh 
people who cannot afford the pure-bred article, or who 
are too inexperienced to ride it, procure a horse most 
nearly approaching that type. 

Over here things are different. The average Ameri- 
can is not a horseman. He rides — ^not for pleasure — 
but in order to exercise, and he is seen most often in 
city parks, bumping his Hver to his heart's content. 
To him the Kentucky-bred horse, with his high, snappy 
trot, appeals vastly more than the thoroughbred, and 
from his point of view quite rightly so. As long as this 
type of rider exists, and he probably always will in this 
country, the Kentucky saddle-horse as a three-gaited 
animal, and quite aside from his five-gaited career in 
the South, will undoubtedly continue to serve a useful 
purpose. 

But we hope that one day this type of American 
rider is going to be in the minority instead of the 
majority. Every year country hfe over here is grow- 
ing to resemble more closely the country life as hved 
in England. Every year more and more men and 
women are entering into all sorts of healthful outdoor 
sports and learning to enjoy more keenly hunting, 
polo, etc., and consequently to look on hacking as a 
relaxation instead of a form of Swedish gymnastics, 
and they are, therefore, coming more and more to ap- 



52 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

predate the merits of the thoroughbred type of horse 
as a hack. 

It is true that we will probably never learn to 
love the canter as much as the English do, because 
the majority of our roads and bridle-paths are too 
hard to indulge in that gait to any great extent. 
Even though the bridle-paths may eventually be im- 
proved, even though laws may be passed to provide a 
soft passage alongside of our principal highways, and 
pubhc-minded citizens cut '^ rides" through their 
estates and woods, we can hardly hope to imitate the 
wonderful cantering turf that England and Ireland 
possess. Can we ever duplicate the miles on miles 
of grassy woodland avenues through Windsor forest, 
or the *' Downs" of springy EngHsh turf that stretch 
from Buckinghamshire to the sea? England will 
always be the Horseman's Paradise ! But the fact that 
we may have to trot our hacks more often than the 
Enghsh do and indulge in the pleasure of cantering 
less often will not necessarily make it impossible for 
us to appreciate the merits of the thoroughbred hack, 
once we have learned to love him. 

If our arguments in favor of the thoroughbred type 
of horse have seemed inadequate, it is because, after all 
is said and done, the highest quaHties of what consti- 
tute a good hack are most difficult to express because 
they are almost intangible. The high head, peacocky 
appearance and harnessy trot of the Kentucky horse 
may, perhaps, seem but trifles on which to condemn 
him, but trifles though they may be, they nevertheless 
constitute the sum total of what makes a real saddle 
horse and what does not. It's the difference of ''feel" 
between the two types of horses that really matters, 
and once having learned the ''feel" of a thoroughbred 



THOROUGHBRED VS. KENTUCKY HORSE 53 

you will seldom be content to ride anything else. In 
confirmation of which statement I might add that I 
have heard of many people being converted from the 
Kentucky type of horse to the thoroughbred, but I 
never have heard of the reverse ! 

It may be argued that beautifully formed as many a 
thoroughbred is for saddle work, his manners are 
usually so far from perfect that he is not the model 
saddle horse, but this statement, as a rule, only apphes 
to the registered thoroughbred, or more particularly 
ex-race-horse, and in no way mitigates our statements 
in regard to the type. We are forced to admit that 
for the timid, for the novice, the aged, or even for 
the tired business man, who has neither time nor in- 
clination to give his mount much attention, the 
three-quarter or half-bred of the thoroughbred type 
(termed a *^ blood one") is a better saddle horse than 
the more exquisitely bred one. He will be quieter, 
less apt to shy or buck, and he will undoubtedly re- 
quire less exercise to keep him from playing up. The 
registered thoroughbred, although he seldom has a 
mean hair in his head, and is often so phlegmatic that 
he has to be roused in order to do his best, is not as 
lazy or sluggish as he looks and has the pecuUar 
abihty to do the most unexpected things at the most 
unexpected moments, which is most disconcerting to 
the novice. He can shy and drop a shoulder in the 
twinkling of an eye, and squeal and kick, all in play, 
without the slightest warning, with his ears pricked 
and a smile on his face. If, however, you are f ortimate 
enough to be a good rider — ^if — whether you be child 
or grown-up — you possess that *' something" that 
makes you a real horseman or horsewoman, then you 
have in the possession of the registered thoroughbred 



54 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

a treat for the gods ! Everything that applies to the 
type in general applies to him only in a greater degree. 
His form, his air of breeding, intelligence, gaits and 
heavenly canter, all represent the saddle-horse type 
in its state of perfection. What is more, through long 
generations in which the weak and miambitious have 
been weeded out to make place for those who have 
made good on the race-track, the thoroughbred pos- 
sesses more endurance and brains and grit than all the 
other breeds put together. Given the abihty to un- 
derstand him and to ride him, he makes the real 
horseman^s ideal hack. To him belongs the palm. 
If he has just come off the race-track, which is usually 
the case, and has never been carefully and properly 
broken for saddle work, as is done in England (where 
they have as many quiet and well-mannered thorough- 
breds as we have well-mannered Kentucky horses), he 
will, in all probability, be hot-headed and hard to 
manage and require patient training. This is not 
because he is stupid or obstinate, but because he has 
never been asked to do more than perhaps turn to the 
right or left, walk, trot, canter and break away from 
the barrier. The average trainer of race-horses, quite 
naturally, knows Httle and cares less about the making 
of saddle horses, and the jockeys, though they are 
wonderful judges of pace and know how to get the last 
ounce of speed out of their mounts, excel in their own 
line, but are not good riders in the sense that the trainer 
of saddle horses understands the word. Consequently, 
the ex-race-horse knows httle or nothing about the 
ordinary rudiments of hacking. If you lose your 
patience with him, if you ask of him things before he 
has learned how to do them, you will have a fight on 
your hands — a fight to the finish — and you deserve 



THOROUGHBRED VS. KENTUCKY HORSE 55 

one. But if you gradually, patiently, and kindly teach 
him exactly what you expect of him, he will not 
be long in learning. The beautifully broken English 
hacks I have already spoken of, broken to the minute, 
and most of them high-school horses, were ex-race- 
horses. 

In conclusion I cannot do better than quote Cap- 
tain E. B. Cassatt, in the Rasp, of 1914, who says: 
''Your ex-race-horse will be quick to learn anything 
you teach him properly; he will never forget it; he 
will walk his four miles, trot his eight miles, and 
canter like a rocking-chair at any pace you please, 
from four to fifteen miles an hour; he will carry his 
head and neck just where you want it; he will not pull 
you; he will beat your best girFs saddler a quarter of 
a mile to ten miles and be fresher than any other horse 
at the end of it; he will stop for you at any part of the 
race and start eating grass at the side of the road; 
and on a long, man-wearing ride of a hundred or more 
miles, he will give you no notice of how tired he is 
until he rolls into the ditch, dead.'' 



CHAPTER V 
THE HUNTER 

" There must be still a few who remember the stride of that thor- 
oughbred bay, 
Taking all his fences neatly 
And gliding on so sweetly 
That his rider scarce seemed to feel him all the way; 
And the rider knew no other 
To treat him as a brother 
And bear so big a burden through a long and tiring day." 

— Geo. a. Fothergill. 

Who was it said that no better illustration could be 
found of the old adage, *^One man's meat is another 
man's poison/' than the different types of hunters 
considered ideal by various individuals? It is almost 
impossible to make any hard-and-fast rule as to what 
constitutes a good hunter. The horse that is suited 
to a cramped country would not necessarily be a good 
performer over a "flying" country, and vice versa, 
nor would the animal adapted to the needs of the con- 
servative rider please the bruiser. 

One thing, however, is quite certain, namely, that 
whereas in the hack good looks and smooth gaits are 
the prime requisites, in the hunter these are secondary 
to speed and strength, and above all else, intelhgence 
and ability to jump. Possessed of these quahties, he 
may be a ''rum 'un to look at, but a devil to go." 
Nothing gives one so much satisfaction as to be 
mounted on a ''good looker," and in fact I am one of 
those who so love a really beautiful horse that merely 
to be on one adds 50 per cent to the enjoyment of the 
day; but if you cannot afford to own a horse possessed 
of both looks and ability, it goes without saying that 

56 



THE HUNTER 57 

you must, perforce, choose the latter. It is infinitely 
better to own a Ford that runs than a six-thousand- 
dollar car that breaks down ! 

In judging a hunter, look first at his head for signs 
of brains. As Whyte Melville said: '^ People talk 
about size and shape, shoulders, quarters, blood, bone, 
and muscle, but for my part give me a hunter with 
brains. He has to take care of the bigger fool of the 
two and look out for both.'' 

A head of medium length, wide between the eyes 
and across the forehead is the type desired, while in a 
horse with unusual intelHgence we sometimes find a 
prominence in the upper part of the forehead. Much 
of the character of the horse can, after some practice, 
be learned by studying his countenance. The eyes 
should be mild and generous looking. Small, pig-eyes 
are more to be avoided in a hunter than a hack. A 
Roman-nosed hunter is apt to be a handful. 

The hunter should have a deep jowl, with a good 
open throat, and his neck should be long, well shaped, 
and come out of his body properly. Horses with ewe 
necks, swan necks, and short thick necks are, for 
reasons already specified in Chapter II, to be avoided. 
On the other hand, the hunter's neck, even more than 
the hack's, must be strong and well muscled up, for if 
too pliable it will bend over readily, and in endeavoring 
to avoid a colhsion or an unforeseen hole the horse is 
apt to answer with his head alone, bending his neck 
around while his body continues straight on. 

A fairly small nicely placed ear is an addition to 
looks, and more or less essential in a horse intended 
for show purposes, but the hot-tempered, rabbit-eared 
horse is less desirable than the more generous mule 
or lop-eared animal. 



68 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

After intelligence the next great essentials in a 
hunter are: good sound legs with clean bone. Re- 
member the old saw: ^'No fut, no 'oss; no 'ock, no 
'unter." The pretty gazelle-like legs which might 
suffice the hack would scarcely be expected to do for 
the himter. Fairly straight, short pasterns, although 
they do not denote as much speed or elasticity as 
sloping ones, are stronger and better able to bear the 
jar of jimiping and landing on rough ground. 

Slightly ^^ sprung knees, '^ if these are a natural 
formation, do not necessarily count against a himter, 
imless he is to be exhibited in a show ring, in which 
case any malformation, even if it does not materially 
affect the animal, is not acceptable. A hunter, with 
sprung knees is infinitely preferable to one who is 
'^back at the knees. ^' * 

The thighs, and in particular the ^'second thighs,'^ 
should be well muscled up, giving a broad appearance 
from behind and presenting what is termed a ^'good 
pair of breeches." Ragged hips, while not allowable 
in the show hunter, in no way detract from the abihty 
to perform, and sloping, ^^ goose rumps,'' or ^'roached 
backs," while likewise not beautiful are often found 
in the cleverest Irish horses, and are supposed to be a 
sign of jumping ability » On the whole, however, a 
hunter should have a straight back, powerfully mus- 
cled up, and, although not ''swayed," it should err 
on the longish side, particularly if the animal is to be 
hunted by a woman. In a short-backed horse, or in 
a roach-backed horse all the propelling power of the 
animal's quarters is brought directly under the saddle 
when he jumps, and is bound to twist a woman sitting 

* It is of interest to note that quite a fair proportion of the winners 
of the Liverpool Grand National were sUghtly "knee sprung." 




Model middle-weight hunter, Sir Linsin. 
Bj- Imp. Dublin out of Insinuate. Property of Isaac Clothier, Jr., Esq. 




Model light-weight hunter, Down East. 
By Yankee out of Tarantella. Property of Charles D. Lanier, Esq. 



THE HUNTER 59 

sidewise. This is a point that is too often overlooked 
in selecting a lady's mount. I have ridden many 
hunters and jumpers and have never had a comforta- 
ble ride over a jump on a very short-backed one. The 
same thing applies to a horse that is too tightly ribbed 
up. In order to be comfortable to ride and possess 
freedom of stride and ability to jiunp a horse must 
'^ stand over a lot of ground" and "be long over all." 
His ribs, however, must be well "sprung," for a flat- 
sided animal with a small barrel has "no place to put 
his dinner," and will generally be a poor doer and not 
up to the work required of a hunter. 

As we have already seen, an oblique shoulder, one 
in which the bones are not muscle-bound and can 
move freely, is, owing to the ease of stride which it 
gives, desirable in any horse intended for saddle work. 
In a hunter the advantages derived from the oblique 
shoulder are even more manifold. Although the horse 
with the oblique shoulder can gallop no faster than the 
straight-shouldered one, and can jump no higher 
(many of our high jumpers are straight-shouldered 
half-bred hackneys*), he can do the first with greater 
ease for the rider, and the second with more safety and 
with far less concussion to himself. He can land down 
a bank or recover himself after a bad scramble under 
circumstances which would have brought the straight- 
shouldered horse down. If in addition to the obUque 
shoulder the hunter also possesses a fairly high and 

* Confidence, who has the record of 8 feet 3^-inch (see illustration), 
is a half-bred hackney. It is also of interest to note that the wonder- 
ful little jumper, Bathgate Swell (ridden by the late Colonel Kenna, 
V. C. D. S. O.), who, although only 13.2 hands high, could jump 6 feet 
4 inches in height and 19 feet broad, was also a full registered hack- 
ney. Then, again, the deer, who is a straight-shouldered animal, is 
not only very fast, but can jump heights undreamed of by ahorse. 



60 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

sloping wither, the rider will have the advantage of 
always being over the centre of gravity. 

Good hunters come in all sizes, but the average 
might safely be placed at 16 hands. On general prin- 
ciples it is advisable to have a ^^ stone in hand," that 
is, a horse should be capable of carrying 14 pounds 
over and above the weight of the rider, saddle, etc. 
For weight carrying purposes a ''big little horse" 
should be chosen, one who covers a lot of ground but 
stands on short legs in preference to a big leggy beast. 
(See illustration facing page 22.) Great size is not neces- 
sary in order to carry weight, for with good flat bone 
and clean tendons that have a flinty look, a small, well- 
bred horse is often up to far more weight than a larger, 
less well-bred horse with round bone of coarser caliber. 
Big well-bred or thoroughbred hunters up to 200 pounds 
or over are costly luxuries, for although scores 
of small horses possess quahty — quaUty plus size is 
difficult to find, and we have to depend for most of 
our heavyweight hunters on Irish or Canadian horses, 
whose grandams, or even dams, have been draft-horses. 

Some people are so keen to buy bulk in a heavy- 
weight hunter that they are rather apt to overdo the 
thing. The late Mr. James Daly, of Liffey Bank, once 
rightly reminded a friend who was picking out heavy- 
weight horses, that the horse had first to carry him- 
self before even considering the rider. 

Hunters usually require a good deal of time to learn 
the game well, and young four or five year olds, no 
matter how clever they may be at fencing, seldom have 
had enough experience to be rehable for a beginner, 
or for a woman, unless she happens to be a first-class 
horsewoman. Although I do not beheve in the prin- 
ciple of giving horses falls in order to teach them. 



THE HUNTER 61 

nevertheless, a horse of about eight or nine, who has 
had a few tumbles in the natural course of things, is 
in his prime and apt to make the safest and most 
comfortable conveyance across a country. 

Providing that it is deep and rich of its kind, color 
in a hunter is purely a matter of taste, and there are 
good ones of nearly every color, with the possible ex- 
ception of piebalds and skewbalds, which are seldom 
found in well-bred horses. Gray is a favorite color 
among hunting people, as it sets off a scarlet coat well, 
but in order to ride a gray, one should be prepared to 
go hard and straight, for every mistake or refusal can 
be clearly seen at a distance ! 

The choice of sex is more important in a himter than 
in a hack. For a mare, although often more briUiant 
than a gelding, is (owing to her variable disposition) 
sometimes disagreeable and difficult to hunt. The 
owner of a mare can perhaps make up for these draw- 
backs by being able, in after-years, to have the joy 
of breeding from his favorite hunter; but for the aver- 
age person owning but one horse and intending to 
hunt regularly without let up, the gelding, other things 
being equal, is perhaps the wiser choice. 

Elegance and style of carriage, so essential to a hack, 
while always desirable, are by no means necessary in 
a hunter. He should, nevertheless, carry himself easily, 
be bridle-wise, come to hand, and flex his neck readily 
and without great effort on the part of the rider. 

I personally prefer a horse who can be hunted in a 
snaffle bridle, but this is largely a matter of taste, 
and depends on the individual horse and on the type 
of country to be hunted. If one is hunting in a nar- 
row, cramped country, where there is much stopping 
and quick turning, a double bridle is undoubtedly 



62 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

more efficient, but if one is fortunate enough to be 
crossing a fast flying country, mounted on a real 
snaffle-bridle horse, there is nothing so delightful as 
the simple ^^feel'^ of the snaffle rein. 

Unfortunately there are very few real snaffle-bridle 
horses. It does not suffice that a horse can be ridden 
in a snaffle without actually running away. To earn 
the title he must not only have such a hght mouth 
that he can be ridden on a thread, stop, turn and flex 
himself only a shade less readily in the snaffle bridle 
than in a double, and most important of all, he must 
gallop '^naturally" collectedly, and not because of any 
artificial aid given by the rider. Real snaffle-bridle 
horses are born, not made. 

But whether in a snaffle or a double bridle, the ideal 
carriage for a hunter's head is neither very low nor 
very high, and he should keep his eyes on the groimd. 
If he carries too low a head he is apt to lean the weight 
of it on his bit and be a very trying sort of mount. 
On the other hand, this is preferable to a very high- 
headed horse or ''star-gazer," for he may hit his rider 
in the face if he throws up his head when jumping, 
and is unable to measure his jumps properly, unless 
ridden with a very short martingale, which is always 
a tricky business, unless one has very good hands. 
There are, of course, many hunters who either hang 
their heads or poke their noses in the air, and yet are 
safe and reliable in spite of these faults, and not be- 
cause of them. Other things being equal, however, a 
horse who carries a good head, flexes his neck, and 
comes to hand as readily as a perfect hack, is more 
nearly the ideal hunter. 

Hunting men are too apt to ridicule ''school" 
methods, but they would do better to realize that, 



THE HUNTER 63 

except in the case of veteran hunters with whom it is 
better to leave well enough alone, a short course of 
training to teach a horse to flex, canter slowly, leading 
on either leg, to back readily, and even to ^'passage" 
and ^Hraverse" a few steps, cannot help but be of 
great assistance to him in rendering him handy, 
nimble, and clever at his jumps. 

One of the cleverest little thoroughbred hunters I 
ever owned, who always jumped in a snaflfle bridle 
without even a martingale, would pop easily over five 
feet with the reins loose on his neck, without touch- 
ing a rail, and yet half an hour later he could be 
slipped into a double bridle, arch his neck, give you 
his '^school'' head, passage, piaffe, and do everything 
short of a Spanish Walk as prettily as a Uttle circus 
horse. I feel quite convinced that the training he 
had gotten in ^^ school" methods of handling himself 
was a distinct help to him in his jumping. Hunting, 
racing, and polo may be the ^^ sports" of horseman- 
ship, but ''high school" is its art. And the graceful 
airs of the capriole, croupade, and piaffe are more 
than merely wonderful and beautiful, they serve many 
a useful purpose as well. ^^By a school training a 
dangerous horse may be made safe, or a chronic 
stumbler be taught to catch himself, or the average 
ungainly, clumsily moving brute be made light and 
handy, and responsive to the bit and leg, and this 
demonstrates its usefulness. Is it not useful to take 
a puller, or a horse so high-strung that it is a risk for 
any one to ride him, and make him moderate and safe 
for even a woman to ride, if she is taught what his 
training is and is trained herself?"* In fact, a short 

* "Riders of Many Lands," by Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore A. 
Dodge. 



64 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

school training is bound to be of benefit to any type 
of horse,* with the possible exception of the race-horse 
intended for great speed. But for the hunter the 
decrease of speed caused by school work is so sHght 
as to be immaterial; hounds, even in a drag, never run 
fast enough to make a thoroughbred horse extend 
himself to his full limit. 

A good, flat-footed walk is essential in a hunter if 
one wishes to have any comfort in hacking home after 
a long day^s run. Many a time I have blessed the 
walk of a gray mare of mine who, when the day^s 
hunting was over and we turned homeward, would 
strike a walk so smooth and easy as to enable me to 
reach home sooner, and with less exertion, than any 
other member of the hunt. Moreover, the freedom of 
action which a good walk indicates (one in which the 
hind foot covers the print made by the fore, by at 
least 6 or 7 inches), is very essential in enabling a 
horse to jump with safety. 

Although a good walk and a fine low canter are 
more essential in the hunter than a superior trot, 
nevertheless, there are certain quahties in the trot 
which are desirable, if for no other reason than that 
they indicate complete freedom of motion. For in- 
stance, a hunter should trot lightly and easily, flexing 
his hocks and bringing them under his body with 
energy instead of dragging them along behind him. 
He should bend his knees easily, step lightly, and raise 
his feet high enough to avoid tripping, but even the 
low, straight-kneed '^ daisy-cutting" action possessed 
by so many "Touchstone" descendants is preferable 
in a hunter to excessive knee action. 

* The French rather than the German methods of high school should 
be used. The latter are not *'16gere" enough, and are apt to teach a 
horse to be rigid and stiff. 



THE HUNTER 65 

At each step the forefoot, when extended, should 
be placed level on the ground, neither pressing on the 
heel nor on the toe, and the foot should come down at 
the full length of the stride and not be drawn back an 
inch or so, before reaching the ground. The latter is a 
sign of a horse being ^Hied up in the shoulder^' and 
consequently unable, to extend himself at a gallop or 
over a wide jump. Horses who ^^dish^' and ^^ paddle^' 
and ''wind their feef when trotting are imdesirable 
as hunters as they are as hacks, and those who brush 
and interfere are a nuisance as they require constant 
attention and special shoeing and boots. "Pigeon- 
toed" horses (those who turn their toes in), although 
often wanting in speed, usually make excellent hunters, 
and are less apt to brush or interfere than those who 
turn their feet out, a formation always to be avoided. 

As the canter and gallop are the hunter's chief gaits 
it is most important that they should not be labored, 
hard, or ''stilty," but easy and comfortable to sit. 
The stride should neither be so long as to be un- 
gainly — a most tiring gait for a woman — ^nor should 
it be choppy and short. At the gallop the horse should 
bend his knees but Httle, in fact "he should travel low 
to the ground, as if he had no knees." 

QuaUty is as essential in the high-class hunter as 
we have already seen it to be in the high-class hack. 
Judging by the paintings of old, both hunters and 
hounds in the times of ''Surtees" were stockier and 
possessed less breeding than our horses and hounds 
of to-day. But within the last generation or so hounds 
have become more and more breedy, the pace conse- 
quently has become faster and faster, and to-day if 
you want to keep up with hounds in a ''flying" coun- 
try, if you want to be able to catch up to them if you 



66 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

should lose them, if you want to get the full enjoy- 
ment of hunting and not run the risk of having a tired, 
underbred beast lie down on you, your hunter musi 
be well bred. Once you have ridden a well-bred one 
you will never feel at home or enjoy a ride on a common 
one. 

But by 'Veil-bred^' I do not necessarily mean clean- 
bred. For the average rider the three-quarter or half- 
bred horse is undoubtedly the best all-round useful 
hunter. He has most of the good qualities of the 
thoroughbred, but the dash of ^'coW blood renders 
him less hot-headed and more reliable than his full- 
blooded brother, who, owing to the fact that he is 
usually an ex-race-horse, is apt to be hot-headed in 
company. The thoroughbred is typically a ^'horse- 
man^s horse" and often gives even the best of these a 
strenuous ride. As Whyte Melville says: '^ Although 
undoubtedly the hestj I cannot aflSirm that they (the 
thoroughbreds) are always the pleasantest hunters." 

If, however, you are so fortunate as to be able 
to obtain a well-mannered, temperate thoroughbred 
hunter, you possess the acme of equine perfection. 
The recognized aristocrat among horses, in speed he 
has no rivals, and he has always by far the best of it 
in a fast run or in a drag over a flying country. 
Moreover, bred for generations for racing purposes, 
in which soundness and great courage are the main 
requisites, he has, in his struggles for victory, acquired 
^'staying" powers which no other horse in the world 
possesses. The old adages, ^^It's blood that tells" and 
'^A thoroughbred never stops," have their origin in the 
common every-day experiences of those who know and 
love the breed. Time and again the thoroughbred has 
proved not only that he is able to carry more weight 



THE HUNTER 67 

in proportion to his size than any other breed, but that 
at the end of a long, hard gallop through deep fields, 
which has reduced the underbred horse to a walk, 
he will struggle gallantly on, galloping and jumping 
till he drops in his tracks. ^^ Though many an active 
underbred horse is gifted with a surprising burst of 
speed for a short distance, it cannot sustain the effort, 
and is soon done up, and it is in the power of main- 
taining pace and strength when blown that the thor- 
oughbred excels all others. Moreover, a good-tem- 
pered docile blood horse can scarcely be put to any 
description of work in which he will not beat the 
low-bred animal, in proportion to the powers of the 
individual. Even in moving heavy weights it is 
astounding what a light-looking thoroughbred horse 
can achieve. There is on record a match, which took 
place at Dycers Repository in Stephens Green, Dublin, 
about sixty years ago. . . . The question to be 
solved was whether a thoroughbred could stand up 
imder as great a weight as a low-bred horse. . . . 
Only two-year olds could be obtained at such short 
notice to champion the race, and weight was piled up 
until the cart-bred animal lay down. The thorough- 
bred not only stood up under the same burden, but 
actually walked out of the yard with the weight on 
its back, which amounted to nearly twenty-four stone'' 
(326 pounds).* 

We now come to the most important of all a hunter's 
quahties, i. e., his abiUty to jump. He may be a 
picture to look at, and have gaits as easy as a rocking- 

* "The Horse," by Colonel Meysey-Thompson. This illustration 
is only given to show what the high courage of the thoroughbred will 
enable him to do. It goes without saying that for long-sustained 
pulls of heavy weights the draft breeds are the best adapted. 



68 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

chair, but if he cannot jump he is of no use whatsoever. 
The ideal hunter, if he is to be hunted with the aver- 
age pack of hounds, or if he is to be shown in the ring, 
must be able to jump four feet six inches with ease, 
and should be able to clear five feet at a pinch. One 
hears some people say that a horse who can jump four 
feet well may be hunted with any pack of hounds, 
and undoubtedly he can, but only if the rider is con- 
tent to trail on behind and wait until bars are broken. 
If you want to ride out in front; if you wish to ride 
straight and hard, it is impossible to do so on a horse 
whose limit of height is as low as this. Even if up 
to four feet six inches, he will, in a big country, be 
obliged to jump his limit much of the time, while the 
five-foot horse would always have a bit to spare and 
so become less tired. Moreover, although you may 
only meet five feet once in a blue moon, when you do 
meet it you want to be able to jump it. 

The form or style in which a horse takes off and 
lands is of equal importance to the actual abihty to 
get up to great heights. The old saying that a horse 
should go fast at water, but slow at timber, is all very 
well as far as it goes, and is undoubtedly an excellent 
precept to drum into the novice, who, as a rule, is too 
inclined to rush all jumps; but in practice a horse who 
goes right up under his fences and then jumps them 
^^ stickily" is as dangerous, if not more so, than the 
horse who attempts to fly them in his stride. If the 
latter hits the jump he will probably do so with suffi- 
cient force to throw the rider, if a man, well over his 
head and quite clear of him; while a woman will at 
least get far enough away so as not to be entirely 
under him when he falls. But the horse who creeps 
up under his fences before he takes off, will, when he 



\ THE HUNTER 69 

hits them, come down all in a sickening heap and 
crumple up right on top of his rider. 

It is, then, the everlasting happy medium that we 
must look for. Timber of any height cannot be 
jumped in the chancy way that brush is negotiated, 
nor should it ever be '^ raced" over, but what horse- 
men really mean when they say that a horse should 
jump timber slowly and collectedly is that, no matter 
how fast he comes down at it, he should, before actually 
taking off, ''set himself" and bring his hocks under 
him for the jump. If he does this properly he may 
go at his fences at almost any speed and yet be a safe 
timber-topper. Although a really clever hunter may 
be able to jump from a trot or a walk when necessary, 
he will, nevertheless, do so with greater ease and 
comfort and safety if he is able to approach his jumps 
at sujfficient pace to get up momentmn. 

It is preferable for a woman's horse to approach a 
jump leading on his off fore leg, but a really good 
hunter should be able to jump smoothly off of, and 
land on, either leg and not be obhged to change leads 
at the last moment. He should clear the jump with 
just enough to spare, but he should not unnecessarily 
exert himself by clearing a far greater height than that 
required. A horse who thus ''overjiunps," although 
he gives one a delightfully safe ''feel" and is generally 
a brilliant performer in the show ring, soon tires him- 
self out in the hunting field. In fact, on one occasion, 
I know of a hunter judge, in a show ring, for this 
reason turning down a well-known Canadian ring 
jumper in favor of a horse who, although less brilHant, 
measured his jumps more accurately and would there- 
fore have lasted longer in the field. 

A good jumper should fold his knees well imder him 



70 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

when jumping. (See illustration facing page 70.) 
Horses who drag their knees or chance their jumps by 
flinging themselves over them haphazard are very dan- 
gerous to ride, for some day they are sure to come to 
grief. Many horses who twist themselves over their 
jumps are clever, but are usually uncomfortable for a 
woman to ride. A horse should always land over his 
jumps ''galloping/' i. e., in his stride, and ready to go on 
rather than all bunched like a cat on four feet, or with 
his hind feet hitting the ground first. He should, on 
being turned at a jimap, prick his ears, quicken his 
pace and jiunp it without undue excitement and be 
easy to pull up. Animals who require an acre lot in 
which to stop are a nuisance as well as dangerous to 
ride. In a fast country the perfect hunter should be 
able to gallop down over his jiunps at a good pace, 
and then turn about in a trappy spot or narrow lane 
and be able to take a short stride, and almost from a 
standstill pop over a fence or wall. 

More than this, the hona-fide hunter must, in gal- 
loping over uneven ground, be quick to avoid a stone 
or a rabbit-hole in his stride. Without this the best 
jumping in the world would get you nowhere in a 
rough country, for your horse will give you a fall on 
the flat, which is usually a far nastier tumble than a 
toss over a fence, owtug to the fact that neither horse 
nor rider are prepared for any such eventuahty and 
are going very fast. 

This brings us again around to the fact that iatelli- 
gence and a good disposition are the sine qua non of 
the perfect hunter. Above all, if he is to be a woman's 
mount, he should be temperate, yet keen to go; he 
must not pull an ounce, nor yet require whip or 
spur; he must be light-hearted enough to jump when 



THE HUNTER 71 

others refuse, and yet be willing to wait his turn 
quietly in a narrow place. He can scarcely be called 
a real lady's horse unless he will walk through a gap, 
for although some otherwise excellent hunters will, 
if well-bred, display occasional excusable impatience, 
nothing is so trying for all concerned as a horse 
who starts rearing and plunging whenever restrained. 
If such a horse is otherwise a good beast, he should 
only be hunted on ^^bye" days, when the fields are 
small and his patience will not be put to the test so 
frequently. 

The really good himter must enjoy hunting — it is, 
after all, a ^^partnership game,'' in which he must be 
willing to bear his share of fun and hardship. Some 
people claim that no horses like hunting, but I am 
quite sure that they are wrong. Any one who has 
ever seen the transformation worked by the sight of 
hounds in an otherwise sleepy horse, or has witnessed 
the squeals of dehght that some horses indulge in at 
the meet, will be speedily converted. I have had 
hunters who never paid the sHghtest attention to any- 
thing that the other horses in the field were doing, 
but would keep their eyes riveted on hounds till the 
latter ^^ found," when they would tremble with eager- 
ness to be off. As for the love of jumping, there are 
countless young horses who will do it for the pure 
love of the thing, and who cannot be kept in a pad- 
dock except by very large fences. I have a Uttle filly, 
out of a favorite old hunter of mine, who, when ten 
days old, left her mother's side and jumped over a 
little three-foot picket fence, and when sHghtly over 
a month old gaily attempted nearly four feet two ! 
On the whole, unless a horse has been soured he is 
keen to jump and to hunt. 



72 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

Joy in his work, intelligence, and a nice disposition, 
as well as good form in taking off and landing over 
his jumps, is of far more importance than the fact that 
he may occasionally ^Hick'^ a jump or rattle a bar. 
^^ Whalebone, ^^ the safest hunter I ever owned, and I 
think I may say one of the best that ever crossed 
Meadow Brook, nearly always gave the top bar of a 
fence a sort of flick with his hind legs in passing, and 
yet he not only carried me safely, but also carried 
the whip of the famous Meadow Brook Drag for three 
years without once putting him down. 

In the show ring, on the contrary, a jimiper depends 
for his ribbons on the exactness of his jumping. At 
Madison Square Garden, and most other big shows, 
unless a horse makes a practically clean performance 
over the eight or more four-foot six-inch fences, he 
might as well go home, for as a rule a dozen horses 
will have done this. The show-ring jmnper, in order 
to jump well without the stimulus and excitement of 
hounds, must, on the whole, be a keener and more 
excitable animal than the hunter. In fact, many crazy 
runaway brutes make excellent show-ring jiunpers, 
and I am sorry to say that a large percentage of 
horses who win at most of our shows would be im- 
possible to hunt. Nevertheless, there are many genuine 
hunters who are able to win, and each year we find 
them coming more to the fore in those shows in which 
there are classes especially adapted for them. 

In addition to the ability to jump accurately and 
consistently, making a clean performance eight times 
out of every ten, the show-ring hunter must be keen 
enough not to sulk because of the absence of hounds, 
and yet should be well-mannered enough to enter the 
ring quietly and jump collectedly in spite of all sorts 



THE HUNTER 73 

of strange noises, lights, sights, and sounds. He must, 
to boot, be very handsome if he is to win in ^^con- 
formation" classes, and be thoroughbred, or at least 
three-quarter bred. The underbred horse may jump 
rings around the others but will rarely get a look in 
at the ribbons. If your paragon is also a quiet and 
rehable hunter in the field, he is worth his weight in 
gold, and my advice is never to part with him for any 
price or under any circumstances. 



CHAPTER VI 
THE SIDE-SADDLE VERSUS THE CROSS-SADDLE 

" We are firm believers in the ma'Xim that for all right judgment of 
anything, it is useful, nay, essential, to see the good qualities before 
pronouncing on the bad." — ^Carlyle. 

It is quite impossible to discuss how a woman should 
ride or dress, or for that matter anything regarding 
horsemanship for women, unless we first determine 
the moot question as to whether she should ride side- 
saddle or astride. 

At the risk of appearing biassed, I am prepared to 
state most emphatically that the cross-saddle is not 
best suited to a woman's requirements. 

In making such an assertion one is, of course, bound 
to lay oneself open to the charge of being old-fashioned 
and ultra-conservative; of holding to the antiquated 
opinion that because a thing was good enough for our 
grandmothers it is good enough for us. This is, how- 
ever, unfair. One can, on the contrary, be so optimis- 
tically modern as to welcome any change, providing 
that change is for the better; can even aspire to fly 
across the Atlantic in an aeroplane and still reaUze 
that some of the old things are the best after all. 

A thing is not good simply because it is old and 
established, but, on the other hand, neither is it good 
merely because it is new. It is true that nothing on 
the earth remains stationary — it either progresses or 
retrogresses — but it is equally true that mere novelty 
does not always imply progress. 

It is in this class of thing, new but not necessarily 

74 



SIDE-SADDLE VS. CROSS-SADDLE 75 

progressive, that one might safely place riding astride 
for women. 

Moreover, it will probably interest, if it does not 
necessarily please, the advocates of the cross-saddle, 
to learn that the fashion is not as entirely modern 
as they think it to be. It has been tried before, and 
given up, probably because it did not prove satis- 
factory in the long run, and in England it was not 
until Queen Anne of Bohemia, wife of Richard II, 
introduced the side-saddle that women ever attempted 
to jump or hunt. There are many laughing allusions 
made to the fact that the side-saddle was supposed to 
have originated in order to facilitate riding for a lame 
queen, and that modern women should scorn to use 
an invention that was primarily made for a cripple. 
However, it would be as fooHsh for women to hold 
its origin against the side-saddle as it would be for 
us to discard all inventions that have been evolved, 
largely by accident, in much the same way — as, for 
example, glass or saccharine. Women do not scorn 
to play cards because the game was invented to amuse 
an imbecile king, nor do they refuse to have profile 
portraits, or silhouettes made, just because it so hap- 
pened that the first profile was made for a one-eyed 
emperor in order to conceal his defect. 

Furthermore, the side-saddle invented for the lame 
queen was as different from our modem side-saddle 
as the old-time sailing vessel is from the Mauretania, 
The original side-saddle had no leaping head,* which 
latter addition was not invented until 1830, by M. 
PeUier, of Paris. f Before the introduction of this 

* See chap. XV, page 206. 

t Miss Nellie Holmes was, I believe, the first woman to ride cross- 
country in England with this new invention. 



76 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

most necessary change, women had to retain their 
seat solely by the pressure of the right leg, and con- 
sequently they did little but amble along the road on 
their ^^ milk-white palfreys." Mr. John Allen wrote, 
in 1825, that 'Hhe left leg is nearly, if not wholly, 
useless, for though a stirrup is placed on the foot, 
the only use of it is to ease the leg a Httle, which for 

want of practice might ache by dangling and suspen- 

• J) 
sion. 

That the modern side-saddle has been evolved from 
this ciunbersome and uncomfortable apparatus is no 
more to its discredit than that the modern locomotive 
has been developed from the funny-looking objects 
one sees portrayed in prints of 1814. 

Let us now carefully discuss the various merits and 
demerits of the side-saddle versus the cross-saddle. 

The side-saddle usually has brought against it the 
following charges: 

(1) That it is more apt to rub a horse^s back than 
the cross-saddle. 

(2) That it is apt to make a woman one-sided and 
enlarge one hip. 

(3) That a horse has to be specially broken to a 
side-saddle. 

(4) That in case of an accident a woman is more 
apt to be dragged from a side-saddle. 

(5) That a woman cannot mount or dismount as 
easily from a side-saddle. 

(6) That she cannot get her hands down as low as 
in a cross-saddle, and that having a leg only on one 
side she cannot get her mount into his jumps as well, 
or handle a mean horse as skilfully as in a cross-saddle. 

(7) That the pommels of the side-saddle are ex- 
tremely dangerous in case of a horse falling on his rider. 



SIDE-SADDLE VS. CROSS-SADDLE 77 

(8) That in a side-saddle a woman is barred from 
playing polo. 

In answering these charges in the order in which I 
have placed them, I will begin by saying: 

(1) That properly adjusted and properly ridden, 
there is no more reason why a side-saddle should rub 
a horse's back than a cross-saddle. The fault is 
usually in the rider and not in the saddle. I have 
ridden hundreds of horses here and abroad, often 
using my own saddle, which, as a rule, was not 
especially fitted to the mount, and I have never but 
once given a horse a sore back. That once, with all 
due apologies to my very kind host, was owing, not 
to the saddle but to the fact that the horse's blood 
was overheated, and that he became saddle-galled and 
girth-galled even under a man's saddle. In fact, I 
have owned horses who were naturally inclined to 
sore backs, and sometimes had raw backs when I ac- 
quired them, and yet with a properly adjusted nmnnah 
I have cured them while riding daily, and even hunt- 
ing them in a side-saddle. The next time that your 
horse gets a sore back, don't blame the saddle, but 
rather blame yourself for carelessness in not having it 
properly adjusted, or, worse yet, for poor riding. 

(2) If a girl becomes one-sided from side-saddle 
riding, it is, I venture to say, not the fault of the saddle 
but of an incorrect style of riding. I beUeve I will be 
backed up in this statement by most riding-mistresses. 
If a woman rises at the trot on the proper leg, and 
maintains her square position in the saddle by means 
of keeping her right thigh at the correct angle instead 
of twisting around from the waist up (see Chapter VII) 
she will not become one-sided. While I can naturally 
only quote my own particular case with authority, I 



78 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

feel quite sure that none of my friends who ride side- 
saddle are one-sided. In fact, I have never noticed 
the lop-sidedness so much talked about in women 
who ride side-saddle. It is an exploded theory. 

(3) The idea that a horse has to be especially broken 
in order to be ridden side-saddle originated in the 
days when women wore long flowing skirts. It was 
quite natural that in those days a horse was afraid of 
a woman^s skirt, but with the modern habit there is 
little danger on that score. I do not mean to deny 
that in order to show a horse to perfection, or to have 
him go his best out hunting under a side-saddle, it is 
well to accustom him to the different distribution of 
weight, and to the fact that his rider can only touch 
him with a leg on one side; but a good rider, or even a 
moderate one, need seldom fear to use a side-saddle 
on an otherwise broken horse who is, perchance, 
unacquainted with it. He may possibly act a bit 
strangely at first, but unless he is particularly bad- 
tempered he will seldom do more. If a beginner, or 
mediocre rider, is to mount a horse who has never 
previously carried a side-saddle, it might be wise as 
an added precaution to have a groom wear a blanket 
or rug around his legs and ride the animal for a few 
moments, so as to accustom him to the skirt, and to 
the raising of the rider's right leg when putting it 
over the pommel in mounting. This precaution, how- 
ever, is unnecessary in most cases. 

(4) The idea that a woman riding a side-saddle runs 
more danger of being dragged, in case she is thrown, 
than she would if she were in a cross-saddle, is also a 
charge, the origin of which can be traced to the days 
when women wore fuller habits, or even so-called 
*^ patent-safety'' skirts^ which, in nine cases out of ten, 



SIDE-SADDLE VS. CROSS-SADDLE 79 

caught on the pommels. With the modern full apron 
skirt, and the modern safety-bar stirrup, the danger 
of dragging is reduced to a minimum, and is no greater 
than that which a man runs in a cross-saddle. More- 
over, as a woman in a side-saddle has a surer seat than 
a woman, or even a man, in a cross-saddle, and is 
therefore less apt to be thrown, I believe that the 
danger of being dragged is really less, rather than more. 
So much for the first four objections. The next four 
charges are, perhaps, not so easily refuted. 

(5) It is true that a woman cannot mount as easily 
and quickly as a man. But with a fairly quiet horse 
it is well within the range of possible achievements for 
a woman, of average height, to mount to a side-saddle 
imassisted. We are, however, willing to grant that it 
is no easy matter, and one not likely to be attempted 
except at a pinch. She can, nevertheless, dismount 
quite as easily from a side-saddle as from a cross- 
saddle, and any assistance that may be given her is 
usually merely a form, unless she is very stout or aged. 

(6) Likewise we are willing to admit that it may be 
a trifle more difficult for a woman on a side-saddle 
to drop her hands to a horse, as she has to lean pretty 
far forward even to keep them as low as her knee; 
and it is also true that in riding a green horse, a re- 
fuser, or a mean one, a woman is at a disadvantage 
in not having a leg on both sides of the animal. 

(7) The seventh charge, that if a horse falls with a 
woman in a side-saddle she is more or less apt to be 
badly smashed up, also has truth in it. This is not 
due, however, so much to the presence of the pom- 
mels, as is popularly supposed, but rather to the fact 
that a woman^s seat on a side-saddle is so very firm 
that when the horse hits the fence she is less apt to 



80 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

fly over his head and so get clear of him as he falls. 
In fact, the pommels often act as a sort of buffer, and, 
providing the rider is still sitting close in the saddle 
and is not half in and half out, hit the ground first, 
thus preventing the horse from crunching the rider's 
legs with his weight. I have had several falls in which 
my horse came down on the near side, and, although I 
remained unhurt, my pommels were badly bent, prov- 
ing beyond a doubt that, as I was under the horse 
when he fell, the pommels must have broken the full 
force of the blow. It is astonishing how many falls — 
and bad falls too — a woman can have and yet come 
off unhurt. The explanation of this is, possibly, that 
a woman's horse, if properly schooled, usually ap- 
proaches a jump leading on the off fore leg, and there- 
fore if he hits, he does so with that leg, and conse- 
quently falls on his right side, in which case, unless he 
is imfortunate enough to roll over, a woman is no 
more apt to be hurt than a man under similar cir- 
cumstances. 

(8) As regards polo, I also agree that, owing to her 
position in the side-saddle, it is extremely difficult for 
a woman to play the game well. She can hit the ball 
on the off side as well as a man, and ride off to even 
better advantage, but strokes on the near side are 
extremely difficult. Polo has been played by women 
in side-saddles in England, and by a few women in 
this country, but there is no denying that the side- 
saddle is a handicap which makes it impossible for a 
woman riding in it to compete against men or women 
riding astride.* 

* There is, of course, no reason why a woman who rides side-saddle 
cannot change to the cross-saddle on those occasions when she may 
wish to play polo. 



SIDE-SADDLE VS. CROSS-SADDLE 81 

We have, then, four charges agamst the side-saddle 
which we are more or less forced to admit are serious 
ones, and what is more, just ones. That none of these 
charges are appHcable to mere hacking in a side- 
saddle, but refer only to jumping, hunting, and polo, 
in no way alters the fact that they score heavily against 
the general use of the side-saddle, unless we are able 
to prove, as we hope to do, that the charges against 
the cross-saddle are equally as heavy, and that the 
disadvantages of the latter counterbalance the advan- 
tages. 

(1) A woman in a cross-saddle has a very insecure 
seat, while in the side-saddle her seat is even firmer 
than that of the average man, a fact which a man is 
usually willing to admit. Physically, if for no other 
reason, a woman is not suited to ride astride: her hips 
are too large, her thighs too thick and round, and her 
legs too short from the knee up; at the same time she 
is "cushioned" too high to look well or to sit firmly 
in a cross-saddle. A man who rides correctly, only 
occasionally appHes any pressure with the calves of 
his legs, and grips largely with the muscles on the 
inside of the leg, haK-way between the thigh and the 
knee. In the average woman this part of the leg is 
round and fleshy instead of being flat and hard. 
Furthermore, most women are knock-kneed, a dis- 
advantage over the " bowed '^ or bandy legs of the 
average man, which is hard to overcome. 

To say that all Western cow-girls, who of course 
ride astride, have miraculously firm seats, is no argu- 
ment whatsoever, for the Western saddle is entirely 
different from the English saddle used by us in the 
East. The Western saddle has a high cantle, which 
forms a back rest, and a dished seat, and it has a large 



82 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

pommel in front, and usually huge slipper stirrups — 
all features totally unsuited to hunting, jumping, or 
Eastern riding. Marvellous as the cowboy and cow- 
girl are in their own setting, they would be hopelessly 
lost in an Enghsh saddle. 

The woman on the side-saddle may run a greater 
danger of being hurt, if her mount falls with her, but 
her sister, riding astride, has the equal disadvantage 
of having ten falls to her one. If a horse refuses, off 
she goes, and if he pecks, in nine cases out of ten she 
either goes over his head or has so far lost her balance 
as to fly up on the horse's ears, thus bringing him 
down altogether and turning what otherwise would 
have been merely a hard rap into a fall. This is true, 
not only of the poor riders, but also of some of the 
very best. 

Moreover, the most important advantage the side- 
saddle rider has over the cross-saddle rider, is that, 
owing to her far firmer seat, she is apt to have superior 
hands. This may account for the fact that, whereas 
in theory she is at a disadvantage in riding a refuser, 
or a mean one, in practice she seems to do pretty well — 
in most cases as well as the woman astride. At all 
events, the women of England, who nearly all still ride 
side-saddle, hunt as hard as the men do, and are as 
often "in at the death." I do not think that I am 
far wrong when I say that the American woman in her 
much-vaunted cross-saddle would have her work cut 
out for her if she attempted to follow the average 
EngHsh woman across Leicestershire. 

So much for the practical side of the matter. When 
it comes to appearances, even a bhnd man wouldn't 
argue the point ! There are few places where a grace- 
ful, well turned-out woman looks better, or appeals 



SIDE-SADDLE VS. CROSS-SADDLE 83 

more to the masculine eye, than in a side-saddle, and 
there are few places where the same woman looks less 
graceful, less chic, or less feminine than when she is 
attired in breeches and boots astride of a cross-saddle. 
Young, sUght, girhsh figures may look fairly well in a 
cross-saddJe, but these same figures when they have 
grown older and have become rounder and fatter, not 
only will look dreadfully vulgar, but each year they 
will become more and more insecure as their thighs 
round out. Mrs. Thomas Hitchcock is one of the 
few older women who look well, and ride well astride, 
but her figure has always maintained its boyish ap- 
pearance, and she is the exception that proves the rule. 

Fat does not look well on either a side-saddle or a 
cross-saddle, but a large, portly, matronly woman 
may still ride side-saddle with a fair degree of modesty, 
dignity, and security, while on a cross-saddle she would 
be a laughing-stock. The young slips of girls, who 
now appear so attractive in their trim little breeches 
and boots, are no standard to go by; wait until they 
are fair, fat, and forty, and watch how many of them 
will have given up riding because they look so queer, 
while their more '^ old-fashioned" sisters will be able 
to maintain their enjoyment in the sport until extreme 
old age. 

It might perhaps be argued that appearances should 
not count against comfort or safety, but I, for one, do 
not think that there is a great enough difference in the 
degree of safety or comfort afforded by the cross- 
saddle over the side-saddle to warrant our disregard- 
ing looks altogether. We women, would undoubtedly 
be far more comfortable in trousers, could walk and 
run and jump on street-cars better, but nevertheless 
for the sake of looks, and looks alone, we do not adopt 



84 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

them. We would undoubtedly be more sensibly 
clothed if we did not run around in low-necked evening 
dresses in the winter, and yet who among us would 
abandon them on the score of comfort or safety? 
Why, therefore, shouldn't women be willing to submit 
to the few very sHght inconveniences of the side- 
saddle in order to look graceful, feminine, and lady- 
like, instead of like a vulgar, badly shaped and knock- 
kneed man. 



CHAPTER VII 
HINTS ON RIDING 

"Grace is the result of forgotten toil." 

— Geo. McDonald. 

"There is a great guK between the amateur and the artist which is 
never crossed; for the artist is the steward of toil that he may become 
the master of his craft; while the amateur, by evading the service 
forfeits the mastery." — Hamilton Wright Mabie. 

If you travel in the Orient, or in our Western States, 
it will not be long before you become duly convinced 
that the best natural riders the world over, regardless 
of their particular and peculiar styles of riding, are 
those men, those tribes or nations, who, from their 
youth up, have been the companions of the horse. 
Nevertheless, while the rider who, as a child, has 
learned the trick of balancing on a bareback pony is, 
no doubt, at a great advantage, age is not necessarily 
an entire bar to learning. I remember one lady who 
did not take it up until fifty, and another who had 
never jumped a horse until she was fifty-four, and 
now actually himts hke blazes. 

Above all, it must be remembered that the best 
teaching in the world, and all the knowledge gained 
from reading or hearsay, will be a useless accumula- 
tion of facts unless one is also able to put them into 
practical use. An ounce of practice is indeed worth 
many a pound of theory, for it is practice alone that 
makes perfect. In riding, as in everything else in life, 
you cannot become an expert by merely reading, or 
even by occasional spurts of application. It is impos- 
sible to perfect yourself by isolated efforts at improve- 

85 



86 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

ment, for to become and remain a really good rider 
requires constant practice and constant watchfulness 
against faults and slipshod ways. Perfection in any 
line is ^^not built up by single efforts . . . but by the 
repetition of small acts in every day experiences/' 

Of all the quahties that go to make up a fine rider, 
a good seat is, perhaps, the most important, for on it 
depend hands, grace, safety, and much of all that 
makes up horsemanship. 

The perfect seat, for either man or woman, is that 
which combines the maximum amount of security and 
grace with the minimum amount of fatigue to either 
horse or rider. Grace must be present in the ideal 
seat as well as security, for we cannot afford to banish 
beauty and grace from our ridmg or our sports any 
more than from any other branch of life. Correct 
form is more than a mere fad — it is adhering as closely 
as possible to the ideal seat. 

As both security and grace depend largely on the 
proper position assumed in the saddle, this must, of 
necessity, be our first consideration. 

The proper position for a side-saddle rider, which 
remains the same at any gait except for a shght supple 
movement above the waist, is as follows: She should 
sit squarely and firmly in the saddle, very much in the 
same easy and graceful position that she might seat 
herself sidewise on a sofa, with the exception that her 
shoulders must be at right angles to the horse's ears. 
In order to assume this perfectly square seat her right 
thigh should he parallel with the horse^s hack-hone. Very 
few instructors seem to be aware of this important 
detail, and merely urge their pupils to sit squarely, 
which they do by twisting around from the waist up, a 
position which is extremely fatiguing, unnatural, and 




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HINTS ON RIDING S7 

is largely responsible for the charge that a side-saddle 
produces enlargement of one hip. 

The entire body above the waist should be supple 
and at ease; the rider should be able to sway slightly 
with the horse's motion at a canter, and should be 
able to lean well forward at a gallop or over a jimip. 
She should also be able to bend backward so that her 
head touches the animaFs rump, or bend sidewise, so 
as to be able to touch her toes without in any way 
altering the uniform position of her legs. This bal- 
ance and grace must be obtained entirely from the 
hip joints, and the indefinable swing and rhythm 
which mark a good rider is of the same type as that 
which characterizes a good dancer or an expert skater. 

On the other hand, at no time should suppleness 
degenerate into sloppiness or limpness. At all times 
the back, though supple and by no means stiff or rigid, 
should, nevertheless, be quite erect and should not 
appear to collapse at every moyement of the horse. 

Although, at a trot, the line which is almost per- 
pendicular is the most correct, it is preferable to lean 
slightly forward rather than to lean back. Leaning 
too far forward at the trot is a failing which many 
hunting women are apt to fall into, owing to the 
amount of jmnping which they do and to the long 
hours which they remain in the saddle at a gallop. 
When the habit is thus naturally acquired, it is at 
least unobjectionable, but it should never be as- 
sumed artificially, as is sometimes done, in order to 
appear like a hunting woman. In fact any style of 
riding, even one which is bad form, if natural and un- 
conscious, is preferable to affectation or ^^pose." 

The head should be held in a natural and easy posi- 
tion, as if when walking on foot, and should not move 



88 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

jerkily or stiffly to and fro, nor yet be held haughtily 
in the air as if the rider were entirely unconcerned as 
to how her horse is proceeding. Crocking the head 
forward, as if one were suffering from a broken neck, 
is a bad habit acquired by many of our best show- 
riders, and presumably is caused by bending forward 
too much, to observe closely the gaits of their mounts. 

The shoulders should be held easily and fairly well 
back, and quite level (the right one is apt to be in- 
clined a little higher than the left), and the elbows 
should be held naturally at the sides, neither pulled in, 
as if cramped, nor poked out affectedly at right angles, 
nor yet flapping up and down with each motion of the 
horse. 

A good rider should rest most of her weight in the 
saddle on the right thigh instead of on the stirrup foot. 
It is the preponderance of weight on the near side, 
which, in the case of poor riders, causes the saddle to 
drag down and rub the horse's withers or back-bone, 
and thus gives rise to the idea that all side-saddles 
tend to give horses a sore back. 

The next thing to note is that the rider should sit 
well into the saddle, pressing the right leg down from 
the hip to the knee, otherwise, were she on accasion 
to grip the pommel, there would be a space between it 
and her knee which would render her seat most 
insecure. 

The rider's right leg should hang easily over the 
pommel (see illustration, Figs. 1 and 2) and flat against 
the flap of the saddle, in the position that it assumes 
most naturally. It should neither be poked out in front 
(see illustration, Fig. 3), which is a very common fault 
among beginners, and which renders the seat insecure 
and makes the habit ride up, nor should it be hooked 




FiG.l 

Correct position in broad- 
pommelled hunting saddle 



Figj2 

Correct position in narrow- 
pommelled saddle 




Fig 



¥10.4- 



Incorrect position in broad- 
pommelled hunting saddle 



Incorrect position in nar- 
row-pommelled saddle 



90 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

back in a cramped style so that the calf of the leg is 
brought around the upper crutch and the right leg 
touches, or almost touches, the left. (See illustration, 
Fig. 4.) This latter position is not only fatiguing, but is 
apt to cause rubbing under the right knee, where it 
squeezes the saddle. To say nothing of the fact that 
with this seat the body is brought too far forward, and it 
predisposes the rider to fall over the off shoulder of the 
horse should her mount swerve suddenly to the left. 
The left leg should hang perpendicularly from the 
knee to the ankle, but whether the knee is much or 
little bent depends, in a woman^s saddle as in a man's, 
entirely on the length of the leather. 

This brings us to the much-mooted question as to 
whether it is best to ride by grip, by balance, or by a 
combination of both. Some excellent horsemen and 
horsewomen recommend using very long leathers and 
riding entirely by balance; others advocate using short 
leathers and maintaining the seat by grip. I per- 
sonally am in favor of the happy medium — riding by 
the proper distribution of balance, plus grip. Balance 
above the waist, occasional grip below. 

Those persons claiming that the ^'balance" seat, 
pure and simple, is not only the most graceful, but also 
the most secure, are apt to cite as an illustration of 
theu' contention the marvellous feats of the Western 
cowboy, who rides with extraordinarily long leathers 
and yet is able to sit an outlaw bucking bronco while 
holding a playing-card between his knees and the sad- 
dle. Granted that this is true, nevertheless, the de- 
duction that is drawn from it is wrong. To begin with, 
the cowboy does not ride entirely by balance, he grips, 
as need may arise, and his grip is at times so power- 
ful that he is able to make a horse squeal by the pres- 



HINTS ON RIDING 91 

sure. Furthermore, and this is more to the point, it 
is as illogical to use the proficiency of the cowboy as 
an argument for the '^ong leather '' seat, as it would be 
to use the expertness of the Cossack as an illustration 
of the efficiency of the ^' short leather ^^ seat. The Cos- 
sacks, perched absurdly high on their roll of blankets, 
have their stirrups himg so as to bring their toes back 
on a line under their ears; their knees are completely 
bent, and they grip with their calves and their heels 
instead of with their knees, and yet, although they do 
all the very things that we consider incorrect they 
are able to leap from one horse to another at full 
speed, mount and dismount at a gallop, pick up objects 
from the ground, and are unequalled as a semi-civiHzed 
cavalry. Or take, for example, the Arabs, the Bedouins, 
or Spahis, who remain incredibly long hours in the sad- 
dle, and seem part and parcel of the animals they ride, 
and yet they, too, use extraordinarily short leathers. 
To give other illustrations of a seat totally different 
from that of the cowboy, and yet equally secure, look 
at our old-time Indians, who rode with their legs flat 
back against their animals' sides. They could enter 
a seething mass of stampeding buffaloes and pick up 
a dying warrior without slackening speed. 

In fact, be it in the Occident or the Orient, we find 
that many of the great natural riders of the world, un- 
surpassed in their expertness on a horse, nevertheless 
'^ smash to atoms every commandment in the decalogue 
of modern equitations." It is just barely possible that 
were the Cossack, the cowboy, or the Arab to devote 
to a seat more Uke our modern one the same amount 
of time and energy that he does in learning his own, 
he might produce even better results, but I doubt it. 
This only goes to show, not that the principles of 



92 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

modern riding are at fault, but that different styles 
and types of seats are best adapted to the varying 
needs of different conditions. It is as foolish to quote 
the method of the Western cowboy as being appUcable 
for use in an English saddle as it is to cite the style 
adopted by the men of the Orient. 
The Western saddle, with its high cantle and horn 
' pommel, is eminently suited to the work of lassoing 
or roping steers, but it is wholly unadapted, uncom- 
fortable, and dangerous to ride in over a country. 
The cowboy can undoubtedly remain in his saddle 
for days on end without fatigue; he undeniably has a 
wonderfully natural and graceful seat, and he most 
certainly can ride horses that no other man on earth 
could stay on for five minutes, but he cannot ride over 
jumps,* and he knows nothing about the accompHsh- 
ments of finished horsemanship, and would cut as 
sorry a figure in an Enghsh saddle as we would in his. 
It is clearly a case of the squirrel who, it will be re- 
membered, said to the mountain: 

"Talents differ. All is well and wisely put. 
If I cannot carry forests on my back 
Neither can you crack a nut." 

The proof of the fact that, although long leathers 
are pecuHarly well adapted to the cowboy^s Western 
saddle, they are not, per se, conducive to a secure or 
graceful seat when used on an Enghsh saddle, is evi- 
denced by the performances of the U. S. cavalry over 
the jumps. Far be it from me to deny that in long- 
distance riding and endurance our cavalry may be 

* The force exercised by a horse bucking is an upward action instead 
of a forward or lateral action, as it would be were the animal jumping. 
Sitting a buck is therefore, mechanica'ly quite different from sitting 
over a jump. 



HINTS ON RIDING 93 

unsurpassed, which I suppose, from a military point 
of view, is of the greatest importance, but for finish 
in riding on the flat, or performing over the jumps, 
we most certainly do not compare favorably with the 
English, French, and Belgian cavalry, all of whom ride 
with much shorter leathers. 

Moreover, whatever might be said about the merits 
or demerits of long or short leathers when used by a 
man; on a woman's saddle they must be judged sepa- 
rately and by themselves. Since it is illogical to use 
the cowboy's seat and saddle as an argument in favor 
of long leathers, inasmuch as it doesn't take into 
account the difference of conditions, requirements, and 
shapes of the saddle, how much more illogical is it to 
use the cowboy, or any other similar argument, in 
reference to the length of leathers on a woman's side- 
saddle, which bears no possible resemblance to any 
other known saddle. Clearly, the case must be judged 
solely by a woman's particular needs. 

It goes without saying that were a woman to ride 
with an excessively short leather and maintain her seat 
by grip alone, she would be bound to be placed in a 
most awkward and cramped style. She would be apt 
to push her right shoulder forward and be thrown too 
far forward at the trot, when her body ought to be in a 
perpendicular hne. Whereas, at the gallop or over the 
jumps, where she ought to be well forward, she would 
be unable to assume this position. Moreover, owing 
to the fatigue that such a seat would entail, it would 
eventually render her insecure in the saddle because 
of the tiring of the muscles. To go to the other ex- 
treme, however, and lengthen one's leather so as to 
be riding entirely by balance, though it may be prefer- 
able, is equally foolish. In doing so a woman is un- 



94 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

able to rise snappily and easily to the trot, inasmuch as 
she is deprived of the action of the knee and the up- 
ward pressure of the ankle joint, and is, therefore, apt 
to push forward on the stirrup at each rise, producing 
an ugly pendulum-hke swinging of the left leg. This 
action not only fatigues the horse but is likely to pull 
the saddle down on the near side and give him a sore 
back. Moreover, and this is even more to the point, 
by using too long a leather she deprives herseK of the 
chief support afforded by the leaping head, and thus 
weakens her grip. No one is a firmer behever than I 
in the advantages to be derived from learning to ride 
bareback, and of acquiring the balancing trick, but it 
goes without saying that for practical work the 
saddle possesses a distinct superiority over the bare- 
back seat in nearly every way, and in view of this fact 
it seems foolish to throw away the advantages of the 
saddle. It may be all very well to prate about riding 
entirely by balance, but I am firmly convinced that 
those riders who claim they do, simply don't reaHze 
that in actual practice they do occasionally grip. How 
many women, for instance, would be willing, in hunt- 
ing, to dispense with the leaping head altogether, and 
yet if they never press against it, as they claim, of 
what use is it? 

In ^'Riding Recollections'' Whyte Melville cleverly 
settles the question when he says: ^^Some people tell 
you they ride by balance, others by grip. I think a 
man might as well say he played the fiddle by ^finger' 
or by ^ear/ Surely in either case a combination of 
both is required to sustain the performance with har- 
mony and success. The grip preserves the balance, 
which in turn prevents the grip becoming irksome. 
To depend on the one alone is to come home very often 



HINTS ON RIDING 95 

with a dirty coat, to cling wholly by the other is to 
court as much fatigue in a day as ought to serve for a 
week. . . . Grace is, after all, but the result of re- 
pressed strength. The loose and easy seat that seems 
to sway so carelessly with every motion, can tighten 
itself by instinct to the compression of a vice, and the 
'prettiest' rider, as they say in Ireland, is probably 
the one whom a kicker or buck- jumper would find the 
most difficult to dislodge." 

To obtain the ideal combination of suppleness and 
relaxed muscles above the waist, with occasional grip 
below the waist, I personally am quite convinced that 
the medium length of leather is the correct one, for 
either man or woman. I do not recommend this sim- 
ply because it is a style that I affect myself, for no in- 
telligent horseman or horsewoman would advocate a 
method merely because it is their own. I recommend 
it because it is a method that is good both in theory 
and in practice. 

In a side-saddle this happy combination of balance 
and grip is best achieved by a leather just long enough 
to allow putting the flat of one's hand between the 
left knee and the leaping head.* (See illustration. 
Fig. 1.) For quiet riding about, or for showing a 
hack, it may, if desired, be lengthened as many holes 
as will best suit the animal's gaitf (see illustration, 
Fig. 2); but for general use — for hunting, jumping, or 
for riding rough horses — the medium length is the best. 

* The correct length of the leather should always be gauged by this 
relation of the rider^s leg to the leaping head, and not by any fixed ''hole" 
in the leather. For, on a wide-girthed horse, a leather in exactly the 
same hole would, in reaUty, be shorter than the same leather on a 
narrow-girthed horse. 

t As a general ruie a horse with a quick, trappy gait does not require 
as short a leather in order to rise comfortably as an animal with a 
long stride. 



96 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

It is quite sufficiently long to permit the rider^s leg 
comfortably to clear the leaping head when rising to a 
trot, and yet were the horse to make any movement 
beyond the point at which natural balance could main- 
tain the seat, the leaping head can be effectively and 
instantly gripped at a point about four or five inches 
above the knee by a supple movement of the ankle 
alone, which pushes the thigh tightly against it. The 
downward pressiu-e of the foot against the stirrup- 
iron assists in the upward pressure in such a way that 
the rider is figuratively clamped into the saddle in a 
manner impossible with a long leather. For with the 
latter the leg, in order to press against the leaping 
head, has to relinquish its downward pressure against 
the iron, in which case the action is bound to be 
feebler than in the former. In assisting the grip of 
the left leg, the right knee and leg should press down- 
ward and laterally against the saddle and the horse's 
shoulder, but it should not be hooked back around 
the pommel. 

I realize that in advocating a powerful grip on the 
leaping head, in case of an emergency, I am putting 
myself in direct opposition to several eminent women 
riders, who jump, hunt, and ride on rough horses with 
extraordinarily long leathers, claiming that they are 
better able to slide up on to a horse's neck in this way 
and maintain their pressure against the leaping head 
at a point farther up the thigh and without the assist- 
ance of the downward pressure on the iron. I fail to 
see, however, how such a grip can ever be as secure 
as the one obtained by combined knee and ankle pres- 
sure. Moreover, the ability to crawl up on to a horse's 
neck like a monkey, affected by some of our cross- 
saddle lady riders, is not at all necessary. It goes 



HINTS ON RIDING 97 

without saying that a woman should lean well forward 
over a jump, but she can lean quite as far forward as 
is necessary and graceful without renouncing the se- 
curity afforded by a reasonably short leather. It will 
be seen in illustration facing page 70 that I could 
scarcely be farther forward in the saddle without look- 
ing extremely ungainly, and yet I am riding at the 
length of leather I have just advocated. Undoubted- 
ly, there are many women who accomplish astonish- 
ing results with very long leathers, and some with 
very short, but I venture to say that had the same 
amount of labor, patience, and skill been used on a 
length more suited to the work in hand even better 
results might have been accompHshed. 

Whatever may be the controversies regarding the 
matter on a man^s saddle, on a side-saddle it is prefer- 
able that the stirrup-iron be held on the ball of the 
foot, even when jumping or hunting. In this position 
not only is there less danger of the foot remaining 
wedged in the iron in case of an accident, but also it 
is evident that the efficacy of the rider's grip, performed 
as already described by the ankle joint, is destroyed 
if the foot is put ^^home." For in the latter position 
the ankle joint can have no ^^play." 

The left foot should always be held as nearly parallel 
to the horse's side as is consistent with ease, and the 
heel should be held a Httle away from the animal. 
(See illustration, Figs. 1 and 2.) If the foot is not ab- 
solutely level, the heel, rather than the toe, should be 
depressed sHghtly. In gripping to any extent, the 
foot may be carried away from the horse's side, and 
pressure thereby applied more to the inner than the 
outer side of the iron, in which position the knee is 
best able to adhere to the saddle flap. 



98 HACKS AND HUNTERS • 

There is nothing prettier than a well-executed trot, 
and nothing more deplorable than a bad one. Rising 
to the trot is called by the French le trot Anglaise, but 
strangely enough the majority of Englishwomen do 
not rise as gracefully to the trot as might be expected, 
considering what wonderful horsewomen they are on 
the whole. 

Many hard-riding, cross-country EngHsh and Irish 
women are unable to execute a graceful trot at all, 
and I venture to say that in spite of the fact that here 
in America we have only one good rider to their ten, 
you will, nevertheless, see more women rising to a 
trot neatly and gracefully in Madison Square Garden 
than at Olympia or in Hyde Park. 

This is, of course, due to the fact that in England 
the trot is but sparingly indulged in, and also because 
so many English and Irish women sit one step and rise 
on the alternate one, which, although it may look un- 
graceful, is less fatiguing when once learned, and better 
adapted to long jogs from covert at a hound trot. 

To rise to the trot really well, the right leg as well as 
the left should remain in exactly the same position as 
when at a standstill or at a walk, and should not swing 
to and fro like a pendulum. In fact, in all the three 
gaits the legs should always remain in identically the 
same position. 

The left leg of a woman in a side-saddle hangs and 
acts in a manner similar to the way it would were she 
riding cross-saddle. I noticed this little fact whenever 
I, on rare occasion, rode cross-saddle; that whereas 
my right leg felt clumsy and awkward, my left leg had 
so long been accustomed to being held in just this 
same position that it at once felt quite at home. 

As already stated, the rider's weight in the saddle 



HINTS ON RIDING 99 

should be almost entirely on her right thigh, and the 
rise at the trot should come chiefly from the muscles 
of the right thigh and knee, and but httle from the 
stirrup foot. The upward push of the ankle joint on the 
stirrup-iron is, naturally, of some assistance in rising, 
and renders ohe motion less fatiguing than it would 
otherwise be, but a good rider should be able to rise 
passably well without any iron. In rising, the right 
knee must not slide up and down as one so often sees. 
The test of a really good rider should be the ability to 
balance a fifty-cent piece on the right knee when rising 
at a trot. At first, in order to keep the knee quiet, 
one may, perhaps, have to exert a steady pressure 
against the inner side of the upper crutch with the 
right leg, but after a while as the rider finds herself 
automatically keeping her knee motionless when rising, 
this pressure may be diminished. 

When rising to a trot the rider's body is naturally 
in the air when one particular set of the horse's legs 
are raised (either the near fore and off hind legs, or 
the off fore and near hind legs), and the body is in the 
saddle when the opposite pair are lifted. In a man's 
saddle it makes no difference which set of legs one 
rises to and which set one sits to, although most riders 
acquire the habit of rising on the same respective legs. 
It is better, however, for a man to alternate the manner 
of rising occasionally, for it stands to reason that if the 
rider never varies in his manner of rising, the horse wiU 
always be obliged to use the same muscles to throw 
him up, and always have the strain on the same leg, 
and in consequence will sometimes not trot quite 
"level." In long-distance riding, the importance of 
changing the set of legs on which the rider rises, in 
order to rest the horse, is well recognized. 



100 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

In a side-saddle, however, this resting of the horse 
is not accomplished without a marked disadvantage 
to the rider. For a side-saddle rider rises far more 
gracefully and neatly when the off fore leg and near 
hind leg are on the ground, than when the reverse is 
true.* Mechanically the reason for this is that, owing 
to the rider^s position in the saddle, if she rises from the 
impetus received by the off hind leg striking the groimd, 
she will be pushed outward and to the left, and go up 
and down in a more or less churning motion, whereas, 
if she waits for the near hind leg to push her up, 
her left shoulder will be pushed over to the right, thus 
counteracting any downward tendency she might have 
toward the other side, and she will probably rise up 
and down in a straight Hne.t Rising on the wrong 
leg (commonly spoken of as being ^'out of time'') is a 
very common fault among beginners, and should be 
at once corrected so that eventually it will become 
more or less automatic to rise on the proper foot. 

It must not, however, be forgotten that unless a 
horse has been accustomed to be ridden on this par- 
ticular set of legs, his gait on the opposing ones may 
be very uncomfortable, ungainly, and tiring, and in. 
many cases horses will deliberately put in a short 
stride or two to force the rider back to rising on the 

* The truth of this statement cannot be ascertained, as might be 
supposed, by examining the photographs of expert women riders. 
For when being photographed a woman will, if she knows anything 
about the game, *'sit" to the trot and make no attempt to rise until 
she is past the photographer, in order that none of the pictures will be 
spoiled by having caught her in the air. 

t It is not, as popularly supposed, the hind leg, which is off the ground, 
that gives the most impetus to the rider. On the contrary, it is the 
propulsion of the leg which strikes the ground that, just prior to its 
being hfted again, pushes the loin muscles of the animal up and 
assists the rider in rising. 



HINTS ON RIDING 101 

legs to which the animal is accustomed. In such cases 
it is the part of good horsemanship to be able easily 
to adapt oneself to circumstances, for the rider will 
find that, in spite of a slight tendency to be thrown to 
the left, it will be possible to rise on the wrong leg more 
gracefully than on the correct leg against the inclina- 
tion of the horse. 

The height of the rise — the distance that the rider is 
thrown up in the air — naturally depends largely upon 
the individual animal's gait. A horse with a long 
stride will cause a rider to rise higher than one with a 
quick, snappy trot. Horses who throw their rider up 
so little that there is a scarcely perceptible rise give a 
prettier effect, but are less comfortable for a woman 
to ride than those who throw her up with more im- 
petus. 

The subject of '^ hands" is of equal importance with 
that of ''seat," and in some respects is even more im- 
portant. There is no doubt, but that half the horses 
who are pullers have become so by trying to get away 
from the rough hands of their riders. Pulling riders 
are the ones who make pulhng horses, and no horse 
will really go his best except for a rider with good hands, 
while even a good horse will frequently fall on his head 
when ridden by a person with bad hands. 

Many people, however, never give the subject seri- 
ous attention because they go on the principle that 
''hands," like a "touch" on the piano, are "born not 
made," and that if you are not fortunate enough to be 
born with good hands you'll go to your grave without 
them. This is true to a large extent, but "hands" 
can be improved, and no one who has been properly 
taught need be really "mutton-fisted." They may 
not acquire the delicacy of touch possessed by their 



102 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

more gifted friends, but they need never have notice- 
ably bad hands. 

To begin with, I think that the first step toward 
good hands is to acquire a good seat. Hands and seat 
are inextricably interrelated. Without a firm and se- 
cure feeling in the saddle no man or woman is Hkely to 
have very good hands, for unless they don't mind falls 
at all, or in fact relish them, they will unconsciously, in 
endeavoring to stay in the saddle, be bound either to 
^' jab '' the horse in the mouth or, worse yet, exert a con- 
stant pressure on the bit. The close connection be- 
tween a firm seat and good hands is often illustrated 
by the fact that women are accredited with better 
hands than men. This may be largely due to their 
superior lightness of touch and feminine sensibihties, 
but it is, as already stated, as often due to the fact 
that a woman on a side-saddle (and it is in this saddle 
that a woman's reputation for good hands has been 
acquired) has such a firm seat that she is absolutely 
independent of her reins in order to maintain her seat. 
For this reason it is perhaps not as necessary to preach 
to women on the subject of hands as it would be to 
men, but it is too important a subject to be omitted 
altogether. 

The jockey, Sam Chifney, tells us to use the reins 
as if they were silken threads, and J. H. Moore always 
gave the advice to take a pull at the reins as though 
you were drawing a cork from a bottle without wish- 
ing to spill any of the contents. 

It must be remembered, however, that good hands 
do not in any sense of the word mean weakness, gentle 
indecision or vagueness, nor do we imply by good hands 
the sort of thing that some people pride themselves on 
when they ride with the reins loosely flapping in the 



HINTS ON RIDING 103 

breeze. By good hands are meant a constant but 
gentle and delicate conununication held between the 
horse and rider by means of the mouth, a communica- 
tion extremely Ught but absolutely firm. 

One rule cannot be too strongly emphasized, and 
that is that evenness of pressure must be maintained 
on the reins.* Each rein must be the length of the 
opposite rein in the other hand. That is, although 
the bit and bridoonf reins may be of different lengths, 
the right bit or bridoon rein must be of exactly the same 
length as the left bit or bridoon rein. Therefore in 
picking up the reins the beginner must take care that 
they are not twisted, but be careful to distinguish be- 
tween them so that they may be of the same length 
in both hands. 

DeHcacy of touch is assisted greatly by the correct 
position of the arms and the hands, as well as by the 
way the reins are held. The forearms should hang 
horizontally and easily to the sides, the elbows neither 
squeezed tightly in, nor yet stuck out at right angles 
to the body. The correct position not only adds neat- 
ness to the appearance but adds to the power of the 
rider, for, although in pulHng up, the wrists do most of 
the work, the elbows must be able to pull back in a 
straight fine to the rear, and the arm must act hke a 
piston, forward and backward. 

The forearm should be at right angles to the upper 
arm, and the wrists phable and ready to give and 
take. In this position the arms bear no weight on 

* Disregard of this rule even by good riders causes most horses to 
acquire an uneven way of holding the bit, and consequently to get a 
"hard" and a "soft" side to their mouths. 

t The bridoon of a double bridle is incorrectly called (in this country) 
a "snaffle," The correct terms are the "bridoon" and the "bit," 
and not the "snaffle" and "curb." . 



104 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

the reins, whereas if the arms are extended and the 
forearm is more or less in a Hne with the reins, all the 
give and take has to come from the shoulder, the 
whole arm instead of just the wrist has to be moved, 
and unconsciously the rider occasionally rests his weight 
on the reins and the horse's mouth. 

In order to maintain the correct angle of the fore- 
arm, the hands, when hacking, should be held about 
half-way between the right knee and the waist, and 
about at a level with the waist-Hne. (See illustration 
facing page 36.) Horses differ very much in the way 
they should be ridden, and some require more leverage 
on the bit than others in order to make them step high 
or *'act up,'' in which case the hands may be raised 
sHghtly higher. (See illustration facing page 86.) 
Holding the hands extremely high, however, has no 
advantage and lays one open to the accusation of 
*^ putting on airs" or '^ showing off." 

For hunting or jumping the reins should be held 
shorter than for hacking, and the hands should be 
placed forward so that they come at least over the 
rider's knee, and should be held as low as possible. 

Most of the detailed directions I have ever read in 
books as to the proper way of holding the reins are so 
varied and obtuse that there is small wonder that 
beginners are all at sea as to which is correct. It 
seems that, as Ruskin says: '^It is far more difficult 
to be simple than it is to be compKcated." Most in- 
structions on the subject are frightfully compHcated, 
whereas in reahty the thing is extremely simple. 

I find that it is quite unnecessary to know the 
numerous recommended ways of holding the reins — 
instructions which make the average book on riding 
look like a labyrinth of meaningless rules. One can 



HINTS ON RIDING 105 

content oneself with a very simple way (used very 
little in this country, but almost exclusively in Eng- 
land) which serves equally well for all purposes, at all 
times, and appHes equally well to a snaffle or to a 
double bridle. 

To hold the reins of a snaffle you do as follows: 
With the hand held so that the knuckles are to the 
front, place the left hand over the near (left) rein, 
grasping it so that the rein hes across the palm* and 
passes out of the hand between the forefinger and 
thumb, with the slack of the rein falling over the back 
of the thumb. Then take up the off (right) rein in 
the right hand in the same manner, but lay the slack 
of the rein across the palm of the left hand on top of 
the left rein, so that the reins are thereby crossed over 
and lie on top of each other. The wrists should not 
be rounded, but allowed to fall without stiffness in a 
natural way, bringing the knuckles to the front in 
more or less of a horizontal rather than a vertical posi- 
tion. 

The above style of crossing the reins is similar to 
the one almost entirely used by jockeys on the race- 
track, and when the rider shortens the reins and slides 
up on a horse's neck in a race or over a jump, it is 
called the ^^ Nelson wrap." The mistake should not be 
made, however, of letting go the right rein with the 
right hand and endeavoring to ride with one hand 
only; both hands should always be kept on the reins 
except on occasions in which the right hand is needed 
for the whip or to adjust something — in which case it 
can easily be lifted off without rearranging the reins. 
Riding with but one hand on the reins is very bad form 

* It is also permissible to hold a snaffle rein so that it runs between 
the little and fourth fingers, passing out of the hand as stated above. 



106 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

and extremely awkward-looking, excepting in the case 
of the military man who has to have his sword-hand 
free, or the poloist, who needs his right hand for his 
stick. Holding the reins in one hand necessitates a 
much shorter hold than if they were held in two; it 
reduces the rider^s control over the horse, and, in order 
to maintain an even pressure on the animal's mouth, 
requires that the hand be held in the centre Hne of 
the horse's body, a position as ugly as it is uncom- 
fortable. 

Double reins should be held in exactly the same 
way as single reins, except that the little fingers on 
both hands separate the bit and bridoon reins on each 
side. To proceed in picking up double reins, grasp 
the left bridoon (snafile) rein with the left hand in the 
manner already mentioned, allowing it to pass out of 
the hand between the forefinger and thumb. Then 
pass the left bit (curb) rein between the fourth finger 
and the little finger of the left hand,* letting this, too, 
pass out of the hand between the forefinger and the 
thumb; the slack of both left reins to fall over the 
back of the thumb. Now take up the right bridoon 
and bit reins in the same manner with the right hand; 

* The method of having the bit rein between the Uttle finger and 
the fourth finger, which thus brings it on the inside is preferred by 
most good horsemen, and is, therefore, described here. In actual 
practice the question as to which rein should be on the inside must 
be determined by the amount of control which is to be exercised on 
that rein, for we can work the inside rein more effectively than we 
can the outside rein, inasmuch as we can bring the fourth finger to bear 
down against it without even moving our wrist. For general use, and 
in particular for hacking, the bit rein should be the predominant rein, 
and therefore should be on the inside as described; but in some cases, 
where the horse goes better on the bridoon, or occasionally in hunting, 
it may be reversed and the bridoon put on the inside and the bit on the 
outside, and at such a length that there is little or no pressure exerted 
on it, unless the hands are rotated inwardly and the httle fingers closed 
on the palms of the hands. 



HINTS ON RIDING 107 

after which, still keeping the right hand in position, 
pass the slack of the two right reins across the palm 
of the left hand on top of the left reins. Both hands 
should always be kept on the reins except on odd occa- 
sions, when the right hand can be lifted off the reins 
or resume its position without disturbing them in 
any way. 

In double-rein riding the wrists are slightly more 
rounded than in using a snaffle, and the knuckles are 
thereby held in a more vertical manner; this position 
enables the fourth finger, which has chief control over 
the inner or predominant rein, to work downward and 
backward. Reins are always more easily held by 
feehng their edges than their flat surfaces. There- 
fore, in exact proportion to the amount of leverage 
desired to be exercised by the fourth finger should the 
rounding of the wrists be increased. In extreme cases 
when showing a high acting hack, the wrists are often 
so greatly rounded that the palms are almost turned 
upward and the knuckles down, a method, however, 
best left to the experienced. 

The method of crossing the slack of the reins in the 
palm of the opposite hand has several advantages 
over the method more generally used in this country; 
in which the reins, separated by the various fingers, 
all run in one direction and come out between the first 
finger and thimab of the left hand. 

In this latter form of riding, the rider has (1) the dis- 
advantage of holding the reins differently in each 
hand, and in order to get an even feel on both reins 
he has to have the off rein shghtly longer than the near 
rein. Should he now take his right hand off the off 
rein, this rein remains more or less longer than the 
other, and the horse is unconsciously pulled around to 



108 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

the left. In the crossed-method plan both hands have 
exactly the same hold on the reins, and they can be 
passed from one to another, or held evenly in both 
hands without lengthening or shortening one or the 
other. (2) This method also prevents the reins from 
slipping through the fingers as they do when held in 
any other way. This is because in the crossed-rein 
method the friction of the opposing surfaces of leather 
is utilized to prevent shpping, and also because the 
muscles which hold the reins in this way are stronger 
than those which would simply press them together 
between the fingers. (3) The modification of the 
*^ Nelson wrap," formed by the crossed reins, acts, when 
laid across the horse's withers, as a sort of support in 
jumping, should the horse suddenly refuse or hit a 
fence hard. (4) Held in this fashion, the reins are 
absolutely even as to the pressure they exert, and in 
showing a hack the outside rein, or bridoon rein, can 
be loosened altogether, and all the pressure of the 
fourth fingers in both hands brought to bear entirely 
on the inside or bit rein, exactly as if only a single 
rein were being used. 

The rider should never allow her mount to start 
until the conmiand is given, and if he attempts to do 
so he should be gently checked. In order to start or 
to increase the pace when already moving, the reins 
should be gently shortened, not flapped or jerked, 
and the animal should be lightly pressed with the 
heeL Chirping or clucking is annoying to other 
horses and should never be indulged in. 

When attempting to shorten the reins we should 
alter the feehng of them as Httle as possible, and should 
try to keep them at equal lengths so as not to interfere 
with the horse's mouth. The easiest way to do this, 



HINTS ON RIDING 109 

either when using a double or a single bridle, is as 
follows : 

See that the right hand has a firm hold of both reins, 
then slide the left hand up the left rein; when the de- 
sired length has been obtained, bring the right hand 
up to that position, grasp the slack of the right reins 
with the forefinger, third, and fourth fingers of the left 
hand, and then slide the right hand up to the equal 
length, allowing the slack of the right reins to run 
through the forefinger, third, and fourth fingers of the 
left hand, until the reins are smooth and even again. 

To stop or slow up one's mount, either shorten the 
reins gradually and gently, or exert a steady pressure, 
but never jab or jerk a horse's mouth suddenly. Ex- 
cept in cases of emergency a horse should never be 
pulled up sharply, as he is only Hkely to strain his 
tendons or Hgaments, spring a curb, or cross his legs 
and fall down. I well remember my first experience 
in catching a runaway in Central Park: I leaned for- 
ward and, grasping the bit rein of the running animal, 
who was slipping along at a pretty good rate, jerked 
it suddenly instead of pulling on it gradually. To my 
horror the horse and rider went down to the ground as 
if shot by a gun. Fortunately neither horse nor rider 
were hurt, but it taught me a lesson which I have 
never forgotten. 

Turning should also be done gently and slowly. In 
order to turn to the right, for instance, we should sUp 
the right hand a trifle up the right rein to shorten it 
and, by turning the wrist over to the right so that the 
thumb is on the outside and the finger-nails are almost 
upward, exert a gentle pressure on this rein with the 
httle finger and fourth finger. At the same time the 
left hand should be raised a trifle and carried to the 



no HACKS AND HUNTERS 

right, pressing the left rein against the animaFs neck 
a httle way up from the withers, for naturally the 
flexibility of the neck increases away from the withers. 
To turn to the left, the same process applies, reversed. 
The entire motion should, in all cases, come from the 
wrists, and under no circimistances, except on a green 
or bad horse, should the rider attempt to carry her arm 
out and away from the horse's shoulder, and no matter 
how disobedient a horse may be, she should never 
assist her left hand by crossing over her right hand, or 
vice versa. It is never a question of brute force, and 
if a horse refuses to turn by gentle indications, or 
when the full force of the right hand is apphed, neither 
will he be likely to yield when the other hand is also 
brought to bear on the rein. 

On an absolutely bridle-wise saddler or polo pony 
the reins laid against the neck are all the indication 
that a horse may need to turn properly, but the aver- 
age horse will turn in better style if his hindquarters 
are simultaneously brought around by a gentle pres- 
sure of the left leg drawn back, or an equally gentle 
application of the stick on the right side. 

In order to back a horse, supposing that he is well 
broken and already knows how to back, the rider 
should lean slightly forward (in order to lighten the 
horse's hindquarters), shorten the reins gently, and 
first make the horse take a step forward, as this facili- 
tates the process of backing. Then keeping her hands 
low, the reins should be gently pulled on alternately 
(starting with whichever side the animal happens to 
have the fore leg the most advanced). For example, 
if the off fore leg is farther forward than the near fore, 
the right rein should be felt first, and vice versa. After 
a slight pull on the rein the horse will draw back this 



HINTS ON RIDING 111 

leg, after which it should be slackened a little and the 
other rein pulled on. This alternating pressure on the 
reins is necessary in order to prevent a horse from at- 
tempting to rear should he be dragged backward by 
an equal pull on both reins. The voice and a gentle 
pressure of leg and stick help in backing, and enable 
the hindquarters of the horse to be kept straight. 

At a walk a horse may be allowed a free head, pro- 
viding that he does not shuffle, amble, or jiggle. Noth- 
ing is so much admired as a good, fast, flat-footed 
walk. At all other gaits the horse must be up in his 
bridle, and a fine rider never allows his mount either 
to increase his pace without an order, to change his 
gait without a conmaand, or to exceed the limit of 
speed at which he can go collectedly. The trot should 
never be allowed to degenerate into a rocking move- 
ment, and if it does the horse should be steadied at 
once. Unity of speed should always be maintained 
by a more or less fixed length of rein, and '^nigghng'^ 
a horse^s mouth or shifting the hands about should 
never be indulged in. The steadier the hands, the 
better. 

The proper use of the reins is undoubtedly one of the 
first requisites of finished horsemanship, but it is not 
until a rider is also able to use properly the aids of 
leg, whip, or spur, and the correct distribution of the 
body's weight that he or she can rightly be called a 
finished horseman or horsewoman. In racing or polo 
it is not so necessary that a horse be collected as in 
hacking, or even in jimiping, but the success of a 
show rider of saddle horses depends on his ability to 
flex a horse's neck, make him pick up his feet and go 
collectedly. 

Owing to the fact that the muscle which draws the 



112 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

fore legs of a horse forward is attached at one end to 
the shoulder blade and at the other to the top of the 
animaFs head and neck, the manner in which he carries 
the latter appreciatively affects his stride. The higher 
his head (within reason), the shorter and higher will be 
his action. At the same time there will be less weight 
on his forehand, which is an advantage to the hack 
whose fore legs receive much wear and tear in trotting. 

In order to force a horse to carry his head in the 
position we desire, we must, by the use of leg, spur, 
or stick, if necessary, make him bring his hindquarters 
well under him, and send him into his bridle, at the 
same time slightly restraining him by means of the 
reins, so that his own impetuosity on being urged 
forward, and at the same time held back, will make 
him step up the distance he otherwise would have 
stepped in length. 

Preparatory to trotting we must by means of leg 
and stick see that the horse's shoulders are square to 
the front so as to prevent any tendency on his part to 
break into a canter. In cantering, the leg and stick 
also play a large part, in assisting the animal to lead 
on his proper foot and to prevent his cross cantering 
(right in front and wrong behind). 

Although, for the sake of comfort, a woman's horse 
is usually supposed to lead on his off fore leg, it is 
really quite immaterial, when he is proceeding on a 
straight line, which leg the animal leads with, providing 
he is going collectedly. When travelling in a circle, 
however, it is most essential that the horse lead on 
that fore leg which is on the irmer side of the circle, or, 
in other words, he must lead on the fore leg on the side 
toward which he is turning. If this is not carefully 
observed, the animal is likely to cross his fore legs and 



HINTS ON RIDING 113 

fall down. Thus in cantering in a circle to the right, 
the animal must lead on the off fore leg; if to the left, 
the reverse. 

In order, for example, to make a horse canter on the 
off lead we should turn his head slightly to the left, 
lean a Kttle to the right (effecting this movement only 
from the waist up), and gently apply the left leg so 
as to force his hindquarters out and thus bring the 
shoulder on the off side advanced. Practice will enable 
a rider so to time the signal to canter that it will arrive 
just when the fore leg on which she wishes him to 
lead is raised from the ground, and therefore most 
apt to lead when breaking into the canter. If the 
hindquarters are forced out properly prior to break- 
ing, the horse will lead behind in the same sequence 
as in front, i. e., his off hind leg following his off fore 
leg, and he will not be inclined to cross canter as he 
would were only his head turned prior to breaking him. 

The sUght change in the rider's weight, when she 
leans to the right or left, will often, on a well-broken 
horse, be a sufficient signal to the horse as to which 
leg he should lead on. But the rider must not overdo 
this, or look down constantly in order to ascertain 
which leg the horse is leading on, for this can very 
easily be felt, or be ascertained by watching the 
muscle play of the shoulder. 

The use of leg, stick, and spur can, of course, only 
be learned after long experience, and in any case they 
should never be used without a preliminary ^^feeP' of 
the reins, and should only be applied gently and even- 
ly, and never violently or suddenly, as is so often done 
with an accompanying jerk of the shoulders. Aside 
from its use in making a horse change leads, by means 
of an evenly applied and very gentle backward pres- 



114 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

sure of the calf, a man can literally squeeze a horse 
up into his bridle. With a woman the action of the 
left leg must often be supplanted by an equally gentle 
pressure of the stick on the right side, for (unless the 
horse is well accustomed to being ridden under a side- 
saddle, and understands various signals, such as the 
altering of the weight in the saddle in addition to the 
use of the leg), he might misinterpret it and take it 
for a signal to change his gait or to change leads. 

The efficiency with which the heel acts is greatly 
increased if a blunt polo spur is worn. This, how- 
ever, only applies to an experienced rider who has her- 
self in such perfect control that she will never, even 
inadvertently, touch her mount when jumping, or 
should he play up or kick. There is a very apt 
French saying: ^' UEperon est un rasoir dans les mains 
dJun singe^^ {"A spur is a razor in the hands of a 
monkey"). This appHes with peculiar fitness to a 
spur on the. heel of children, beginners, or even the 
average indifferent rider. 

On the other hand, for a good rider a spur is extremely 
effective in making a horse go collectedly.* One oc- 
casionally hears it said that spurs of any kind are 
cruel, but this undoubtedly arises from the fact that 
some people seem to confuse a blunt spur with a 
sharp one. I quite agree that the use of a sharp or 
rowelled spur is, at all times, unnecessary, and that 
it can very easily become an instrument of torture. 
Particularly is this true when it is used by a woman 
in a side-saddle, who, owing to her position, can only 
apply a spur more or less parallel to the horse's sides, 

* It is all nonsense to say that it is dangerous to wear a spur for fear 
of its catching in the stirrup-iron in case of an accident. In any case 
with a proper safety bar the iron would come out. 



HINTS ON RIDING 115 

thereby tearing instead of merely pricking his skin. 
Owing to the fact that her habit conceals the bleeding 
sides of the animal, the damage cannot be seen by the 
onlookers, or by the rider herself. 

On the other hand, the touch of a blunt spur is 
quite painless and amply fulfils all requirements. Al- 
though on a jumper it should be used with great dis- 
cretion, and on a particularly sensitive animal not at 
all; on a sluggish animal it is of assistance in urging 
him into his jumps, and on a hack it is invaluable in 
making him go into his bridle or change leads, etc. 
The touch of an unspurred heel would be both ineffec- 
tive and tiring to the rider. It comes in extremely 
handy in the show ring, where the use of a whip is never 
a pretty sight, while in the hunting field, among a crowd 
of horses, a spur can be appUed noiselessly without 
startling other horses. Some horses, indeed, seem to 
know full well when their rider is spurred, and will 
misbehave whenever she has left off her boot orna- 
ment. 

The proper spot in which to spur a horse is that 
most sensitive portion of his anatomy, immediately 
behind the girths, and nowhere else. For a woman 
to apply a spur here, however, would necessitate her 
turning her foot at almost right angles to the animal's 
sides, thus bringing her knee away from the saddle 
and rendering her seat very insecure. She should, 
therefore, reserve this more correct method for show- 
ing, haute ecoUj or possibly for pushing a horse up to 
a gate, etc., but content herself, in general riding, in 
jmnping or hunting, with applying the spur a little 
farther up on the horse's side. Although less effective, 
it will make no material difference if it sKdes along 
the animal's skin on a line more or less parallel with 



116 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

his side, unless she is armed with the aforementioned 
rowelled or sharp spur. A woman's spur, in any case, 
owing to the fact that it is often intercepted by her 
skirt, is less effective than a man's, but, for all that, is 
quite useful enough. 

The whip, or stick, either alone or in conjunction 
with the heel and spur, should be used as an indicator 
and but rarely as a means of punishment. Few horses 
should ever be severely whipped, except really mean 
ones, previously badly trained, and on whom all other 
tactics have already been tried without success. St. 
Francis de Sale's words, that ''Nothing is so strong as 
gentleness; nothing so gentle as strength," is even 
more applicable in our deahngs with animals than 
with humans. 

For ordinary use a stick of sufficient length to en- 
able one to touch the horse's flank with a gentle tap 
is all that is needed. The cutting-whip, owing to its 
severity, is reserved for schoohng and racing. After 
much practice one can learn to twirl it, catch it on 
one's little finger, pick it up and bring it down on a 
horse the way a jockey might, but only one person 
in a hundred ever accompHshes this feat, for it is very 
difficult and needs almost as much practice as learn- 
ing to catch a four-in-hand thong. Unless, therefore, 
one is sure of not dropping it, it is better not attempted. 

All sticks and whips, of whatever variety, should be 
held about half-way up the stick and with the point 
always pointing upward. In talking or gesticulating 
one should never raise the right hand with the whip 
in it, as it is apt to frighten the horse. In order also 
not to annoy a neighbor's mount, it is better, when 
riding in company, and, for that matter, smarter-look- 
ing at all times, to carry one's whip or stick close to 



HINTS ON RIDING 117 

one's side and pointed rather backward and downward 
instead of out and at right angles. 

The correct style, length, and shape of sticks and 
crops come more strictly under the head of ^^appoint- 
ments'' and will therefore be discussed in the '' Chap- 
ter on Dress." 

The voice plays an important part in conveying our 
meanings, and to the excited horse an occasional steady- 
ing word or sharp reprimand will often have more 
effect than more stringent methods, but, although we 
may use all the endearing terms that we hke to our 
pets in their stable, we should never lessen the power 
of our voice over animals by idly and constantly chat- 
ting to them when out riding. Nor should we ever 
chirp or cluck to them, which is a most disconcerting 
habit to our neighbors when riding in company. 

It is only after long years of experience, or practice, 
in the use of our hands, heels, spur, and whip that we 
at last become really '' finished." 

Some people are possessed of a figure that lends them 
an air of grace and suppleness unattainable by those 
less fortunate; others again are gifted with that won- 
derful power which enables them to have a subtle 
control over all animals, but in any case, whether or 
not we are so endowed, it is a fact that we are far 
from being a good horseman or horsewoman unless we 
are always striving to be a better one. 

"Knowledge is proud that she has learnt so much; 
Wisdom is humble that she knows no more." 

Dickens's words, '^The first test of a truly great man 
is his humihty," might aptly be paraphrased to read: 
''The first test of a truly great sportsman is his 
humility." 



118 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

To this purpose an almost impossibly high standard 
should ever be held before us. I, personally, can never 
be grateful enough for the constant and unremitting 
criticism of the very dear friend to whom I owe all 
that I know about horses. He constantly spurred 
me on to greater efforts by telling me my faults when 
others had but words of praise ; he never for a moment 
allowed me to think that I had done well enough, 
scorned to accept any excuses for my failures, and 
never permitted me to blame the horse, or weather, 
or conditions, but insisted that I take all the blame, 
telling me to "shut up my excuse book and throw it 
away." 



CHAPTER VIII 
JUMPING 

"No game was ever yet worth a rap 
For a rational man to play, 
Into which no accident, no mishap 
Could possibly find a way." 

— Gordon. 

*'Plus tu sauras, moins tu diras, mieux tu ensei- 
gneras.'' (^^The more you know, the less you will say, 
the better you will teach"), is a saying that applies 
with peculiar force to any instruction on jumping. 
For when all is said and done there is little that can 
be suggested that will be of much assistance to the rider. 

To approach the jump at a suitable pace, to steady 
one^s mount well into the jumps, lean forward and 
give him his head as he takes off, are almost the only 
words of advice that are worth much, and even these 
are far easier said than done. Perhaps the most im- 
portant thing of all is to remember that a horse must 
have absolute freedom of the head and neck if he is 
to jump well. The manner in which a horse in his 
natural state, or on the ^4ong reins," extends his neck 
as he takes off, flexes it when he jumps, and again 
extends it on landing, is perhaps best demonstrated 
by the moving-pictures of horse-jumping, taken by 
the ultra-rapid camera, in which every move of the 
animal is so reduced in speed that one can easily study 
it. Seeing such pictures or watching a horse jump in 
a corral is a liberal education in itself. 

Interfering with the motion of a horse's head and 
neck, even in the slightest degree, would have the same 

119 



120 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

effect that it would on a man preparing to jump, were 
his arms tied behind him, or pulled by a string attached 
to the wrists. There is an apt French saying that the 
heaviest thing on the back of a horse are the hands of 
the rider. And it is a fact that a horse can jump far 
greater heights in a corral, even when a dead weight, 
approximating that of a rider, has been tied on his 
back, than he can with the average rider.* 

It sometimes seems as if a good rider were actually 
' lifting '^ a horse over his jumps, but this only appears 
so because the rider^s hands and the rise of the horse 
are perfectly timed. In reahty, any theory of 'lift- 
ing" is as ridiculous as it would be to attempt to in- 
crease the speed of a boat one was sitting in by push- 
ing one's feet against the bow. Many English and 
Irish horses are accustomed to being held tightly by 
the head all the way over their jumps, but this method 
is, to my way of thinking, based entirely on a wrong 
principle. The properly trained horse will jump best 
when steadied into his jumps, and then given his head 
as he takes off. In doing this, however, I do not 
mean that the reins should be flapping in the breeze, 
or allowed to slip through the rider's fingers to such 
an extent that they require ^^ winding up" again after 
each jump. On the contrary, the horse should be 
given his head by the rider leaning well forward as the 
animal takes off. (See illustration facing page 70.) In 
this way, although the horse has the freedom of his head, 

* Undoubtedly tremendous heights have been jumped by horses 
with a rider up, and one might possibly doubt whether Confidence, for 
instance, would ever jump 8 feet 3^ inch unless ridden over it. The 
reason for this, however, is not that a horse cannot jump greater heights 
by himself, but that he will not attempt such a monstrous fence unless 
forced to face it by a rider. The fact that unhampered by a rider he 
can actually achieve greater height remains, I think, more or less 
undisputed. 




Bronze of the authoress on Cygnet. 
By Harry A. La Montagne. 



,; Ik 



JUMPING 121 

the reins, which, preparatory to jumping, should have 
been shortene ^so that a woman's hands come over 
her knee), are kept at about the same length the en- 
tire way over the jump. In all cases the hands should 
be as low and as motionless as possible, and no at- 
tempt should be made to interfere with the horse's 
mouth. Both hands should remain on the reins, and 
the style seen in old sporting prints, where the rider 
has one arm raised in the air — termed '^calHng a cab'' 
— should not be imitated. The old-fashioned idea that 
one should lean back over a jump has long since dis- 
appeared in this country, but in England one still sees 
many of the best riders doing it. Experience, how- 
ever, has taught riders who make a specialty of jump- 
ing, that the position in which one leans well forward 
is, by all odds, the best. Although the horse un- 
doubtedly requires to lighten his forehand before tak- 
ing off, nevertheless, he does the actual jumping by the 
propelhng powers of his hindquarters, and the for- 
ward seat is the only one which enables the rider not 
only to maintain the proper centre of gravity as the 
horse rises in the air, but also to get his or her weight 
off the animal's loins, which, above all, should be ab- 
solutely free. When the animal is about to land, the 
body should be straightened a little so as still to 
maintain the centre of gravity as well as to lessen the 
concussion on the animal's fore legs, but under no cir- 
cumstances is it necessary, as is so often supposed, for 
the rider to lean really far back.* 

Leaning way back brings the weight directly on the 
horse's loins, which interferes with his Ufting powers 

* There are times, of course, when a horse takes off before he is 
expected to, when even the best of riders inadvertently lean back, or 
as was once aptly expressed, are "left behind." 



122 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

and makes him tick, or drag down a rail. At the same 
time, as abeady stated, in the position of leaning back, 
were the rider to try to give the horse sufficient rein, 
he would be obliged to let it slip through his fingers, 
lessening control over the animal and obliging the 
rider, after each jump, to wind it up again. In the 
leaning forward position the rider can, on the con- 
trary, give the animal all the head he wants, without, 
except in unusual cases, unduly lengthening the reins 
or letting them slip through the fingers. 

It is sometimes thought that were the animal to 
peck badly, the rider who was leaning slightly forward 
would go over the animal's head. Such, however, 
would in any case not apply to a woman in a side- 
saddle, and experience shows that it should not neces- 
sarily apply to a man or a woman astride, unless they 
have overdone a good thing and are leaning too far 
forward. 

Unfortunately, some of our amateur riders seem to 
think that if a thing is good, more of it is better, and 
they almost climb up onto a horse's neck, retaining 
their fantastic position even when he lands, so that 
were he to peck they would surely go over his head, 
or worse yet, so overbalance the poor animal that they 
would bring him down. 

It stands to reason, of course, that in order to main- 
tain one's balance in the saddle sufficiently well to be 
absolutely independent of the reins, and not likely to 
touch the horse's mouth under any circumstances, re- 
quires above all a firm seat. The best manner in which 
a woman may acquire this has already been discussed 
in Chapter VII, so suffice it here to repeat that she 
must balance from the waist up, and in case of need 
clamp herself into the saddle by the pressure of her 



JUMPING 123 

left knee against the leaping head. By keeping her 
leather at the proper length, her knee will always be 
sufficiently bent, or ^^ pointed,'' to absorb much of the 
jar of the jump. 

Of equal importance to the actual business of jump- 
ing is the matter of properly placing the animal at 
his fences. One invariable rule, which cannot be too 
strongly emphasized, is that a horse should always 
be straight at his jumps. If he is taken into the 
wings, or up to the fence sidewise, he is bound to 
bungle it, and, should he hit the jump, will have a 
nasty fall on top of his rider. Beginners are very apt 
to forget this, and I have even seen men who have 
hunted for years, and who ought to know better, start 
a horse diagonally at his jumps and wonder why the 
horse, having more intelligence Ihan his rider, refused, 
or, being on a par of stupidity with his rider, attempted 
the thing and bungled it. I remember when I first 
started to hunt I took one of my nmnerable falls in 
just this fashion. It was my first day out with the 
Meadow Brook hounds, and we approached a typical 
big Long Island '4n and out." As hounds were not 
running, one of the recognized ^'bruisers'' of the field 
stopped to pull down a top rail. I was riding an old 
hunter who was extremely clever and a remarkable 
jumper, but whom I credited with being absolutely 
invincible, as up to that time I had only hunted her 
over a country in which the jumps had all been child's 
play to her. Consequently, I mentally '^pooh poohed" 
the idea of any fence stopping her, and on this par- 
ticular incident, selecting a panel, I gaily sailed down 
at the "in and out." We did the "in" neatly enough, 
but once in, I realized, too late, that to get out on the 
other side was no easy matter, as the lane was exceed- 



124 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

ingly narrow. I therefore concluded that my mare 
would get more of a run if I took the fence diagonally, 
which I did, with the result that I found myself, much 
to my astonishment, on the ground in a heap with 
my mare. By this accident, however, I not only 
pleased the field hugely by having made a gap for them 
to pour through — a fall in time, you know, saves nine 
— but I also learned two things: First, that when cer- 
tain gentlemen of the Meadow Brook Hunt, without 
mentioning any names, stop to pull down a fence, you 
may rest well assured that that particular fence is 
beyond the powers of mortal men and horses; and 
second, that it is better to take five feet straight than 
four feet crooked. ^'One thorn of experience is worth 
a whole wilderness of warning." 

The pace at which a hjorse approaches his jumps is 
also of paramount importance. As a rule, beginners 
and green horses are apt to rush their fences, either 
through ignorance or through a certain form of *'funk'' 
which inspires them to have the worst over as soon as 
possible. It is peculiar how many people, who jump 
quite bravely when they are allowed to sail down over 
a fence, will find their nerves failing if they are obliged 
to jump quietly and slowly out of a narrow lane. It is 
for this reason, I believe, that it requires quite a dif- 
ferent type of nerve to ride well over an Irish country, 
and face the monstrous banks and drains almost from 
a standstill, than it does to gallop over the hedges of 
Leicestershire, or the timber of a Meadow Brook drag. 

However, inasmuch as racing over timber is as fool- 
ish as it is dangerous, it is better to teach beginners 
and young horses to jump small fences from a trot, or 
a collected canter, but this theory, as we have already 
stated in discussing the qualifications of the hunter. 



JUMPING 125 

can easily be overdone. It stands to reason that in 
jumping anything over three feet, which height can 
be easily negotiated by most horses from an absolute 
standstill, a certain amount of pace is required in order 
to give the horse sufficient momentum to get up in the 
air. The more slowly the horse jumps the less mo- 
mentum he has, the more vertically he is obliged to 
raise himself over the jump, and the more fatiguing 
the jump will be for him.* In order to jump grace- 
fully, and without unnecessarily tiring himself, a cer- 
tain amount of pace should be maintained, and all that 
is necessary, in order to enable him to jump safely, is 
that whatever the pace of approach he should be able 
to set himself and get his hocks under him before tak- 
ing off. 

It is absolutely impossible to give any hard-and-fast 
rule as to how a horse should be put at his jumps, 
or at what exact pace; for horses differ as much as 
human beings, and what would be correct for one 
would be qmte wrong for the other. Refusers have 
to be urged and hot horses steadied, while, again, some 
horses have been badly broken and jump well only 
when they are allowed to rush. Others require to go 
so slowly that they appear ahnost to stop before they 
*'pop over," and, in all cases, the rider who wishes to be 
considered a finished horseman or horsewoman, must 
adapt himself or herself to the horse in hand. 

They must be able not only to ride each horse dif- 
ferently, but often ride the same horse differently at 
different fences. On the whole, however, a well- 
broken horse who has been taught to jump correctly 

* Furthermore, in jumping slowly a horse requires more freedom of 
the head and neck, and therefore it needs more delicacy on the part 
of the rider not to interfere with the animars mouth. 



126 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

will do his best if sent at the average fence at a fair 
hunting pace. He should be started slowly, and the 
pace should increase rather than decrease up to the 
moment of the take off. 

It is in the manner that the last dozen or so strides 
are taken that the neatness of the jump depends, and 
in the show ring or schooling yard, if a horse has been 
taken up to, and into, the wings correctly, nine cases 
out of ten he will make a good jump. It is just be- 
cause this putting of a horse at his jumps correctly is 
so difficult, and is of more importance than the actual 
seat of the rider over the jump, that a big jump is more 
difficult to negotiate than a small one. The leeway 
allowed the rider in the manner of putting his horse 
at a fence is naturally much greater at a small fence 
than at a big one, for the smaller the fence the less 
difference it makes where the animal takes off. The 
larger jump can only be negotiated if a horse comes 
into it '^just so.'' 

Whip or spur are of little assistance over a jump. 
Only one person in a hundred can apply the whip with 
proper rhythm and at the right moment, and as a 
general rule more harm is done with the whip than 
good. 

What is of far more importance than whip or spur, 
and which justifies the old saying: ^' A spur in the head 
is worth ten in the heeV is that there should be a de- 
sire on the part of the rider, as well as on the part of 
the horse, to get over the fence. 

The mind of the rider plays a tremendous part in 
making a horse jimip, and it is usually quite true that 
if ^'you throw your heart over the fence, your horse 
will follow it." A lack of courage on the part of the 
rider seems instantly to communicate itself to the 



JUMPING 127 

horse, who immediately starts refusing or bungling his 
jumps. With nerve and impHcit confidence in himself 
and his mount, many an ignoramus on a green horse 
can accomplish more than the skilful rider who is all 
in a fimk. 

There is an old saying that one will never become a 
good rider until one has had seventy-seven falls. 
This is, perhaps, working on the principle of Con- 
fucius's words: '-That our greatest glory is not in 
never falling, but in rising every time we fall !" Pro- 
viding that they do not destroy the confidence of the 
rider, I am quite agreed that nothing is better for 
one than a few falls, which have not been forced, 
but which have come all in the natural course of 
events. 

There is, however, a good deal of bosh written about 
'^ learning how to falPM Although I have had my 
full share of tumbles, it has always appeared to me 
that falls, as a rule, occur far too suddenly and swiftly 
to permit practising any of the stunts regarding tuck- 
ing one's chin into the breast to prevent the neck 
breaking, etc. The best that one can do is to be as 
limp as possible and trust to luck that one will not 
break or bend any bones.* 

Apropos of this the celebrated cross-country rider, 
the late Mr. Trimabull Gary, of Batavia, N. Y., in- 
vited a party of hunting men from Geneseo to his 
house for dinner. Afterward he took them to a room 
in which were numerous small chairs placed on mat- 
tresses. Mr. Gary then commenced flinging himself 
over these chairs to demonstrate that, by certain move- 

* Holding on to the reins, as is so often recommended, may indeed 
save one several minutes in remounting, but personally I prefer to 
kick myself free of the debris as quickly as possible and let the horse 
look after himself. 



128 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

merits of his body, he could fall without hurting him- 
self, and he seemed very indignant when one of his 
guests remarked: ''That's all very well in theory; 
but the first time you try that in the hunting field 
you'll break your blooming neck." The very next 
day, Mr. Gary was out with the Geneseo Fox Hounds 
and had a fall in which he broke his collar-bone, much 
to his disgust and the amusement of his dinner guests. 

The first fall often proves to the novice that falhng 
isn't so very bad, after all, and increases the courage, 
but a bad fall is very often apt to break the nerve, 
particularly if one does not remount at once, or makes 
too much of the mishap. Nothing sadder can befall 
horse or rider than the loss of confidence, for ''he who 
has lost confidence can lose nothing more." 

Nerve is, however, a thing quite utterly beyond the 
control of any one, and has far more to do with the 
physique and the prosaic matter of a good digestion 
than with any trait of character. The best way to 
preserve the nerve is to keep in good health, to eat 
and drink moderately, and to avoid late hours and 
smoking. The English rough rider, "Cap" Tomline, 
was right when he said to a party of men: "The reason 
you gentlemen have such bad nerves is because you 
smoke so much. It turns your brains into a kind of 
vapour." 

There are many people who seem to possess imlim- 
ited courage when they have spectators whose pres- 
ence buoys them up, but they would funk a fence in 
a lonely field. For that matter, I wonder how many 
of us could pass La Rochefoucauld's test of courage 
when he says: "True bravery is shown by performing 
without witnesses what one might be capable of doing 
before all the world." 



JUMPING 129 

Then, again, there are those who persist in hunting 
and jumping, although they are constantly "kivered 
all over with the creeps." Possibly we may wonder 
why they thus turn hunting, which is supposed to be 
a pleasure, into a duty, but one cannot help admiring 
them for being too proud to admit, even to themselves, 
that they are afraid, or for refusing to be robbed of 
'^ their courage which is not fearlessness but self-re- 
spect." After all, "the beginning of all aristocracy 
is the subjugation of fear." 



CHAPTER IX 
HUNTING 

"Boys to the Hunting field 

Though 'tis November, 
The wind's in the south, 

But a word ere we start: 
However excited, you'll please to remember, 
That hunting's a science and riding 's an art; 
The fox takes precedence of all from the covert. 
The hunter's an animal purposely bred 
After the pack to be ridden, not over ; 
Hounds were not reared to be knocked on the head." 

On the principle, I suppose, that we should all learn 
something of everything, and everything of some- 
thing, we find that although many riders have a smat- 
tering of the different branches of horsemanship, but 
few excel in more than one line. In the show ring 
we notice that, with but few exceptions, the crack 
riders of saddle horses rarely compete over the jumps, 
and, for that matter, even those who can jump a horse 
cleverly are not by that same token necessarily good 
cross-country riders. On the other hand, himting men 
and women are, as a rule, deficient in the knowledge 
of that technic which enables them to show a horse 
with success, but they do possess, in order to ride 
across country well, quick judgment, natural common 
sense, a good eye for a jump and for a country. They 
must be able, almost the moment they jump into a 
field, to know instinctively where to get out; they must 
be a good judge of pace, be sufficiently versed in horse- 
manship to understand how to get every ounce out of 

130 



HUNTING 131 

their horse without unduly fatiguing him, and, above 
all, they should know his capabilities for jumping 
and his endurance. 

Hunting is a distinct art in itself. For as Whyte 
Melville aptly puts it: ^^ There is a right and a wrong 
way of traversing every acre of ground that lies be- 
tween the fences." The only way to acquire pro- 
ficiency at hunting is simply by hunting itself — and 
yet more himting. Practice over artificial jimaps, 
where the take off and landing are level, will never 
achieve this result. 

Cub-hunting before the regular season opens is, 
perhaps, the best way not only to learn the etiquette 
of the field and the manner in which it is best to cross 
a country, but also the fascinating mystery of '^hoimd" 
work, without a knowledge of which hunting must 
lose as much of its charm as music would were one 
unable to detect one note from another. 

Moreover, out cubbing one usually meets only those 
people who really love huntiiig, for it takes a lot of 
enthusiasm to get up at four or five, on a chilly morn- 
ing, and go to the meet sustained only by the contents 
of a *' thermos" bottle. 

Cub-hunting is not severe, and there is little jump- 
ing done, for crops are still in the ground and the 
fences are still '^ blind" (covered with underbrush and 
growth), but it is an excellent way in which to fit 
one's horse as well as oneself for the regular season. 
The latter is a point too often neglected, but is as 
important, if one wishes really to enjoy the season, 
as keeping one's horses fit. I know of one amusing 
incident when a well-known sportsman turned to his 
stud groom, saying: ''I am going away for six weeks; 
be sure you have my horses fit and ready." As the 



132 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

gentleman walked away his confidential man touched 
his hat and said: '^I beg pardon, sir, might I make a 
remark? Will you kindly see you are fit yourself, 
sir/' 

The only thing that a book can contribute toward 
the hunting knowledge of the novice is, possibly, a 
suggestion or two as to the best way of handhng the 
every-day obstacles and difficulties that will be met 
in the course of an ordinary hunting day, plus a few 
hints on the unwritten laws of etiquette which govern 
fox-hunting. 

A horse in good hunting condition should be able 
to hunt at least twice a week, and possibly more, 
depending on the individual animal and on the length 
of time he was out the preceding hunting day. We 
should, of course, always endeavor to spare our mount 
as much fatigue as possible, and have him led to the 
meet while we motor or drive there ourselves. In this 
manner one can even hunt at meets which are a dis- 
tance of fifteen miles from home. Were one obliged, 
however, to ride to the meet, I do not think that the 
average person would enjoy the day's hunting if he or 
she had attempted to hack more than a distance of eight 
miles. In any case, whether the horse is led or ridden, 
he should start early enough to cover the distance at 
a walk or easy jog, and I would dismiss any groom of 
mine who was guilty of arriving at the meet with a 
horse whose coat was at all turned by sweat. Although 
many people deem it ^' smart" to be late at the meet, 
there is nothing so conducive to the horse being up- 
set and going badly as to have the rider jump hur- 
riedly into the saddle at the eleventh hour, without 
leaving time to tighten up girths or balance strap. It 
is well, perhaps, in hunting, as in other things, to re- 






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HUNTING 133 

member what Louis XIV said: '^ Punctuality is the 
politeness of Engs.'^ 

If the meet is a large one there will be undoubtedly- 
many out merely ^' to see, others to be seen, some for the 
ride out, others for the ride ^ome, some for happetites, 
some for ^ealth, some to get away from their wives, 
and a few to hunt.'^ And one must be careful, there- 
fore, not to be trapped into a lengthy chat or much 
'^coffee-housing," but rather keep a good watch out 
so as to be in a good position when hounds move off 
to covert. For although, of course, while a covert is 
being drawn, the field must never move away before 
the hounds, nevertheless, if you are not alert you 
may lose, in the first few moments, many an oppor- 
tunity to get well away, and what is lost then will 
take an unnecessary amount out of your horse when 
trying to make it up later. On the other hand, if you 
do not intend to ride hard and straight and jump 
every fence in your way, you should take a more back- 
ward position in the line to covert-side, for nothing is 
so annoying for the rest of the field as to have an 
ignoramus sailing out in front, and at the last moment 
pulHng off of a fence and upsetting every one^s horse. 

Once the covert-side has been reached silence should 
be more or less observed. The Master's temper will 
be spoiled, or a fox will be turned back into covert 
very quickly by the chatter and laughter of women, 
who, for the most part, are out to be seen and heard 
rather than to hunt. "I do not say that you are 
never to open your mouth, but I think that if the 
inmates of your deaf-and-dumb asylums kept hounds 
they would show sport far above the average, and 
would seldom go home without blood.'' (Whyte 
Melville.) On the whole, it is also best to leave any 



134 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

hallos on viewing a fox, or 'Hally-hos/' to the hunt 
servants or old-time members of the hunt, who are 
more apt to know what hounds are about than you. 

If you are riding a kicker, have a red bow put on 
his tail, and endeavor to keep away from hounds and 
other horses as much as possible; don't, however, in- 
dulge in the selfish trick of putting the badge of danger 
on a horse who doesn't require it for the sake of getting 
more room in a crowd. 

As a general rule, it is annoying to the huntsman to 
have the field trail after him into covert, but our 
American coverts are so large that in order to follow 
the excellent and simple advice that '^ii one wants to 
be near hounds you must keep as close to them as ever 
you can,'' one is perforce bound to go into covert. 
Some people, wishing to avoid the unpleasantness of 
pushing through the underbrush, rely on their knowl- 
edge of the country and their fund of hunting lore to 
find hounds again should they happen to start a fox 
out of the far side of the covert. Some men are able to 
tell so accurately which way the fox will break that they 
never fail to get a good start. But not all of us are 
so gifted, and, as a rule, I have found that cautious 
riding through the coverts at a discreet distance from 
hounds and huntsman often saves one many miles of 
futile and excited galloping around the outsides of 
them after false alarms. One thing must, however, 
be remembered, that although there may be many 
things more annoying to the field at large, nothing is 
so calculated to rouse the just and righteous anger 
of the Master as the person who rides all over his 
hounds, or, worse yet, jumps on them. It is often, I 
grant, difficult to ''hold hard" when the rest of the 
field keeps surging on past one, and possibly the best 



HUNTING 135 

way of keeping to the front and yet avoiding the danger 
of riding over hounds is (when fortunate enough to 
know the lay of the land) to choose a Une well to the 
side of the pack, taking care, of course, that plenty of 
room is left in case they should turn sharply. In this 
position one can ride up farther than were one directly 
behind them. 

There are some fortunate people who are blessed 
with a marvellous "bump of location,'' and who, even 
in a new country, are almost unerringly able to choose 
their own line, but not all of us have this faculty. I per- 
sonally am one of those unfortunates who can quite 
successfully lose myself in my own back yard, and 
many of my friends tease me by saying that the real 
reason why I ride straight to hounds is because if I 
didn't I would become irretrievably lost. This fail- 
ing on my part always rather worried me until I heard 
that Captain "Doggie" Smith, who was at one time 
considered one of the best over Leicestershire, once 
jumped into a field in front of the house in which he 
was staying and asked where he was! 

For the newcomer to a country, or for those Uke 
myself, to whom their native heath seems always new 
and unfamiliar, it is perhaps wiser to pick out as a 
sort of "pilot" some man in the field who rides straight 
and hard. One should, however, never let the pilot 
know what fxmction he is performing, for it is ex- 
tremely annoying to feel that one is responsible for 
another's falls and mishaps. In hunting for the first 
time in a strange country I have often chosen a pilot, 
but it was not until I, in turn, was one day so chosen, 
when hunting with the Ward Union Staghounds in 
Ireland, that I realized how very irritating it was. My 
follower was a merry soul, mounted on a hired nag 



136 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

whose capabilities were far from being as great as the 
ambitions of his rider. But, although this unfortunate 
woman had goodness knows how many falls during 
her pursuit of me (and I thought several times that I 
had managed to shake her) she always bobbed up again, 
each time more heavily plastered with mud. Nothing 
daunted, at the end of the run she rode up to me with 
a beam on her face and thanked me profusely for 
giving her such a ^'splendid run." 

There is a certain etiquette in negotiating fences 
which must be as strictly observed by the women as 
by the men in the field. Although in Ireland men 
often say ^^ after you'^ to a woman approaching a bank, 
as a general rule it is up to the women to share the 
discomforts and dangers of the field without expect- 
ing any particular courtesy from the men. There is 
no reason on earth why a man should lose a run in 
order to pull a rail down for a woman, or hold a gate 
open beyond the ordinary length of time that he 
would in decency allow the next rider, be it man or 
woman, to pass through. Men are always most gal- 
lant in assisting a woman to remount after a fall, but 
for my part I never consider it my due, but always 
think it extraordinarily nice of them to do so. Of 
course if a rider is hurt, or is caught in a nasty place, it 
is only common humanity to stop and help, be it man 
or woman; or if a lost horse passes, to attempt to catch 
him and fasten him, when possible, to the next tree or 
fence. But as a general rule for men and women 
alike, it is sauve qui pent in the hunting field, and 
the devil take the hindmost. 

Two people should never attempt to jump one 
panel at the same time, and if only one panel in a 
fence is jumpable, then each rider should take his 



HUNTING 137 

turn at it. The etiquette of the field is that after a 
refusal you must at once go to the "end of the line/' 
for nothing is more annoying to the rest of the field 
than the persistent refuser, who tries again and again 
at the same panel, eventually making all the other 
horses refuse. Had he waited for a lead, he might 
have gotten away in half the time. Excepting in 
countries where there is much wire, there seems no 
reason for the single-file approach to fences that one 
sees so much over here, and one can only explain it 
by saying that possibly most people prefer a goose- 
like manner of progression to acquiring the courage 
necessary to take the "first bloom off a fence." 

Even more disagreeable, and far more dangerous 
than the refuser, is the person who doesn't wait until 
the rider in front is well over the jump, but jumps 
almost into his pocket. As a general rule, when such 
a person is out, I prefer to have him ride in front of 
me rather than behind, for, in case of a fall, the one 
that is leading will be jumped on and get the worst 
of it! Of course, there are times in which one is 
mounted on a hot-tempered horse, when all of us 
have inadvertently conmiitted this crime, but if we 
were called down for it, or, more likely, sworn at for 
doing it, we rightly deserved it. The horse that 
can't be held in the field has no business there but 
should be taken home. Equally dangerous, and even 
less excusable, is the abominable habit of cutting 
diagonally across and jumping some one else's panel, 
thereby either causing the other horse to refuse, or 
upsetting him so that he bungles the jump. The 
rider who is approaching the fence in a straight line, 
even if he is farther away from it than you are, always 
has the right of way. 



138 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

For the sake of others, as well as for your own, 
don't change your mind once you have selected your 
panel. Your horse will jump a big jump cleaner and 
better if he is put at it straight, and your mind is 
made up, than if he is waveringly and diagonally put 
at a far smaller one. A horse that swerves should be 
kept as much away from a crowd at a jump as pos- 
sible, and the hot-headed horse should be allowed to 
go well out in front, or on a line of his own, so that he 
will get the impression that he is in the lead. On the 
other hand, the sluggish animal or refuser should be 
ridden so that he will be given a lead over his 
jumps. 

As the true test of horsemanship in the hunting 
field is to finish a run with the least possible exertion 
to the horse, one should never lark over jiunps to show 
off, or jump a big panel when a Httle fence will do 
as well. Out hunting you never know what efforts 
may be required of your horse before the day is 
over. 

If you have time to do much choosing of a fence 
without interfering with your neighbor's line, you 
should always select a big jump, with a good take off 
and landing, to a smaller one with the reverse. As a 
rule, a fairly thick top rail is safer than a thin round 
one, which the horse may attempt to crash through, 
and old rails are, of course, preferable to young sap- 
lings, which, in conomon with sheep hurdles, are apt 
to snap back if the horse hits them. 

As a general rule, the middle of a panel is its weak- 
est spot, and most likely to break, but if there is any 
suspicion of wire being present, or if the fence has 
much wire on it, with only a binder at the top, the 
safest thing to jump is the post. In Australia, where 



HUNTING 139 

horses are taught to jump wire,* they learn to gauge 
the size of the fence by the height of the post, and I 
have heard of amusing instances when an Austrahan 
horse has jumped his rider off by suddenly and un- 
expectedly leaping over an imaginary fence in perfect 
form when merely ridden between two posts. 

One occasionally hears methods by which, on a 
pinch, an ordinary American or Enghsh hunter may 
get safely over a wire fence by putting a handkerchief 
over the top strand, but I would prefer to leave such 
tricks to others, and try in some way to get around the 
wire. I have, on one occasion, jmnped four strands 
of clean barbed wire, but you may be quite sure that 
I did not do it intentionally. Unfortunately, more 
and more land is being ruined for hunting, here as well 
as abroad, by the presence of wire. Although less 
durable, it is a cheaper fence for the farmer to erect, 
and is, in his case, quite excusable, but it is out- 
rageous when wealthy landowners, who Uve in a 
hunting commimity and actually go out with hounds, 
incase their property with high and impenetrable 
fences, as is done, for instance, in certain fashionable 
sections of Long Island. 

Stone walls, as a rule, look smaller than their actual 
height, but, owing to their solidity of appearance, horses 
jump them very well. This is also the case with stone 
walls which have a ' ^ rider '^ or wooden rail on top. 
Snake fences are jumped as ordinary timber, taking 
care that one is straight at the panel, and that one 
avoids, as far as possible, the pointed ^* forks'' where 

* The M, F. H. of the Ashburton Hunt, in New Zealand, wrote: "We 
think very httle of ordinary wire, but a barbed and double — a fence 
with barbed wire each side of a bank, sometimes six feet apart and four 
feet high — takes a good lot of jumping." So one might imagine! 



140 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

the rails meet and which might stake a horse should 
he swerve. 

Over most all of these fences a fair hunting pace may- 
be taken, but no matter how fast the horse is going, 
he should always be well in hand and not allowed to 
sprawl. At trappy places, or drops, the horse must be 
pulled up, and in negotiating an ''in and out, '' in which 
the fences are near together, he must not be allowed 
to go down at it so slowly that he will refuse, nor so 
fast that he will be too close to the second fence to 
jump it well. Should he refuse in an ''in and ouf 
it will be difficult to get him out of it neatly, and in 
order to do so he must be turned around and whirled 
sharply at the second fence. 

A picket or slat fence is rather a formidable-looking 
affair but will usually break easily, should one be so 
fortunate as to be approaching on the side on which 
the posts are placed. The ledge on top of a slat fence 
is, however, likely to give a horse a big knee should 
he hit it. 

The manner in which the ground, lying between the 
fences, is traversed is almost of as much importance in 
hunting as the actual jumping itself. Plough should 
be taken as slowly as is consistent with keeping up 
with hounds, and the ridges should be either ridden 
down lengthwise, or else diagonally, and should never 
be taken crosswise. Fields in which corn stubble re- 
mains standing should also be crossed with care, for 
the stalks are often very sharp, and I have known of 
good hunters being lamed for the season by step- 
ping on them. In riding through our dense Ameri- 
can coverts it is generally wisest to let the horse pick 
his own way and confine one^s attention to keeping 
the branches out of one's eyes by an uplifted right 



HUNTING 141 

arm and crop. Care must be taken not to brush 
through the branches so that they will snap back into 
the face of the person behind. If one comes across 
an unexpected hole one should immediately call out 
'^ware hole," to warn the rest of the field. 

In jumping toward the sun a horse is often blinded, 
and precautions should be taken that he sees the 
jump clearly before he is sent at it. In a hilly coun- 
try one sometimes is able to spare one^s mount much 
fatigue by going around the base of the hills instead 
of over the tops, but, of course, this must never be 
attempted at the expense of losing hounds. A very 
steep descent should always be taken in a straight, 
rather than in an oblique, Hne, for if the horse were to 
sHp in the former case, he would merely sUde onto his 
hindquarters, whereas were he going down slanting- 
wise he might roll over onto his side. One sometimes 
hears this statement refuted, but I think that any 
one who has seen the marvellous feats of the Italian 
cavalry, who sHde down absolutely straight inclines 
as steep as the side of a house, will not be likely to 
argue the point. In mounting a hill, however, the 
zigzag course is the wiser, as it spares the horse con- 
siderably. The rider should, of course, lean as far 
forward as possible and, if necessary, grasp the horse's 
mane in order to do so. 

Above all, and beyond all else, if one wishes, in himt- 
ing, to keep in the good graces of the M. F. H., and 
of the Hunt's Committee, one should never ride over 
^^ crops" or newly seeded land. Undoubtedly most of 
us, in the excitement of a run, have broken this law 
as well as every other unwritten law of hunting, but 
when we do break them we must expect to be called 
down by the Master or by other members of the field. 



142 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

If that calling down is not exactly in the manner of 
the drawing-room, we must remember that in our 
excitement we have probably often used the same 
sort of language ourselves. Out hunting, a good rule 
to follow is that ''when a man apologizes and is evi- 
dently sorry, you ought to accept his apologies in a 
kindly spirit, even though he has jumped on the 
small of your back.'* After all, in the hunting field, 
as elsewhere, ''the test of good manners is being able 
to put up pleasantly with bad ones." 



CHAPTER X 

HUNTING ABROAD 

**One hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name." 

Before closing the subject, a few words about hunt- 
ing in the true home of the sport may not be amiss. 
There were, before the war, in the British Isles, on an 
area only a little larger than the State of Pennsyl- 
vania, 390 packs of foxhounds, staghounds, and har- 
riers, to say nothing of 12 packs of draghounds, while 
here in America we have in all only 56 packs of hounds. 

The difference is partly due to the fact that the 
sport in England and Ireland is of such ancient origin 
that ''when hunting was the labour of the savages of 
North America, it was but the amusement of the 
gentlemen of England." Partly, too, because over 
there every man, woman, and child loves sport and 
is a horseman after a fashion; because horse-raising 
is indulged in far more extensively than here, and 
even the humblest farmers and peasants take a 
keen interest in the sport. When you are hacking 
home after a day's run, they stop you to ask how the 
hounds went, and where you killed, and how long a 
point the fox made, and finish by offering you a cup 
of tea. In and out of season, the whole countryside 
is enthusiastic about hunting and about horses and 
hounds, and nearly all farmers walk two or more 
couples of puppies for the kennels, and take great 
pride in their charges when they compete at the 
annual puppy show. 

143 



144 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

But it is not only the difference in the sporting in- 
stincts of the people that accounts for the greater 
sway of hunting over there than here. The chief 
reason why it flourishes with them, as it never can 
with us, is because England^s '^infernal climate '' is 
just suited to it, and ours is not. After all, Ruskin 
was right when he said, ^' There is no such thing as 
bad weather; only different kinds of good weather,'' 
and the rains, and fog and damp'that make the Ameri- 
can shiver and shake in England, are the very things 
that not only produce the wonderful green and springy 
"galloping turf for which the "right little, tight little 
island" is famed, but also permit scent to He in a way 
that is impossible over here. 

American people are becoming more and more in- 
terested in hunting, and the breeding of EngHsh as 
well as American hounds is being gone into almost, 
if not quite, as scientifically as abroad, but in spite of 
all, hunting over here, much as Americans may resent 
this bald statement, will, I am afraid, always be far 
inferior to what it is over there. No matter how keen 
Masters of the Fields may be, no matter how well- 
bred the hoimds and horses, the element of dampness, 
so necessary to the highest attainment of the sport, 
will always be lacking. 

Our dry hot climate is far better suited to the game 
of polo, at which we are rapidly excelling all other 
nations, than it is for hunting. And one day I think 
polo will be as much of a national institution with us 
as hunting is in England and Ireland. 

For those persons intending to hunt abroad, I would 
suggest that if they want to have a successful sea- 
son they make their arrangements well beforehand. 
Horses and rooms at Melton Mowbray, Market Har- 



HUNTING ABROAD 145 

borough, or Leicester, which are the hunting centres 
for the famous Shires,* are as scarce as hens' teeth. 
Unless one happens to own horses who have been 
previously hunted abroad, or one is fortunate enough 
to possess a facility for building natural English jumps, 
over which to school them at home, it would be wiser 
perhaps to purchase abroad, or else ''job'' (hire) the 
required number of animals, once over there. This is 
even more necessary in Ireland than in England, for, 
whereas a bold big jumper might, after a very short 
time, learn to cross even Leicestershire quite brilliantly, 
no American horse could reasonably be expected to 
negotiate the enormous banks one meets in Ireland 
without previous experience. 

Whereas in this country it is almost impossible to 
hire even a half-way decent horse to carry one to 
hounds, over there every hunting community has 
several ''job masters," who make a business of hiring 
out horses, and who will provide you with very good 
nags; often making the agreement that you will be 
supplied with a certain fixed number of horses per 
week, and if one goes lame, sick or sorry, supplant 
him by another without any extra cost. I hunted, 
in Ireland, with the Meath and Ward Union hounds, 
entirely on hired horses, and found one or two such 
excellent performers that, had they been as sound as 
one might desire, I would have brought them home 
with me. One in particular was a well-bred little 
black, with a beautiful mouth, plenty of speed, and 
no bank was too big for him. In fact, among my en- 
tire lot of horses there was only one who was not good 

* Hunting men apply the term Shires to those districts hunted by 
the Quorn, the Belvoir, Cottesmore, Mr. Femies, the Pytchley; all 
other districts being termed the Provinces. 



146 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

enough, or fast enough, for me to keep up with the 
first flight. 

Owing to the excellent system of being able to 
"train'' horses almost directly to the meet, one is 
able to hunt at far greater distances from home than 
one would over here. During my winter in Ireland I 
used Dublin as my hunting headquarters, and was 
able to hunt often as far as forty or fifty miles away. 
The horses, in coromon with scores of others, were 
sent on to a town near the meet by train, and in the 
eveniQg the cars were waiting for them to bring them 
home again. The riders and owners, meanwhile, 
travelled in the railway carriages behind, or preferably 
by motor. 

On joining a hunt one should immediately send the 
proper subscription to the himt secretary, whose name 
and address, as well as other valuable information 
about hunting abroad, may be found in Bailey's Hunt- 
ing Directory. At some meets in England, and at 
most in Ireland, in addition to the subscription, a 
** capping" system is in vogue — a sort of "passiog the 
hat," which takes place as one rides from the meet to 
the covert-side. 

There is nothing prettier in the world than the sight 
of an English meet. The riders are nearly all well 
turned out, and before the war '^ scarlet" predominated. 
The hounds are evenly marked, alike as peas in a 
pod, and are, from a point of looks, far superior to any 
pack of native American foxhounds. 

We have neither time nor space to go into the much- 
discussed question as to whether or not the EngUsh 
hound is, or ever wiQ become, well enough adapted to 
hunt the wilder American fox under conditions very 
different from those prevailing in England. Men of 



HUNTING ABROAD 147 

equal prominence as sportsmen and huntsmen, are 
ranged on both sides of the question. Mr. Thomas 
Hitchcock and Mr. Harry Smith, for example, main- 
tain that the nose of the English hound is not keen 
enough for our dry climate, or for picking up a cold 
trail in this country, where *' earths" are not stopped 
as they are in England, and consequently the fox can 
go to ground when hard pressed. Moreover, the 
Enghsh hound has been trained to work in a pack, 
rather than as an individual like the American fox- 
hound, who is therefore better adapted to cope with 
our larger, wilder, and rougher woodlands, where at 
times he has to be totally independent of any aid from 
the huntsman. 

On the other hand, men like Mr. Charles Mather, of 
the Brandywine Hunt, and Mr. A. H. Higginson, of 
the Middlesex, claim that the English hound, when 
bred in this country (and not merely a "drafted" 
hound, sent away from England because of some fault), 
can be developed so as to be quite as capable of hunt- 
ing the fox in America as the native hound, and is 
more amenable to discipline, and breeds closer to 
type. These gentlemen have demonstrated the truth 
of their contention by giving as good sport with their 
pure-bred Enghsh hounds as may be found anywhere 
in the country. 

The question, however, as to whether to use either 
the pure-bred English hound or the cross between the 
best American bitches and Enghsh hounds, or the 
native American hound, still remains unsettled in the 
minds of many hound men. Matches between the 
English hound and the American hound, such as that 
held in 1905 in the Piedmont Valley, between the 
Grafton (American) and the Middlesex (EngUsh draft), 



148 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

decide little; both sides still hold to their respective 
opinions. One thing, however, is quite certain, that 
as yet the American hound does not breed true to 
type. Mr. Charles Mather ^s statement that '^the 
American hound is not a distinct breed '^ may pos- 
sibly be disputed by many hunting men, but it re- 
mains a fact, nevertheless, that as a "pack'^ and 
irrespective of their hunting abilities, the motley as- 
sortment of ill-matched, rather scrawny and cringing 
American hounds compares but ill with the upstand- 
ing, evenly matched, piebald beauties which consti- 
tute an English pack, and which have been bred for 
generations and generations, not alone for their hunt- 
ing abilities, but also for perfect color, markings, and 
symmetry of shape.* 

Comparisons are odious, and since I have already 
given so many perhaps I should not go on to say that 
the next difference between an English or Irish meet 
and an American one is its size. The average field 
of the Quorn, Belvoir, or Pytchley, in England, or the 
Meath, Kildere, or Ward Union, in Ireland, would 
make an election-day crowd of 150 at Meadow Brook 
look small. Excepting for the inspiring sight that it 
presents, however, I think that most hunting people 
will agree that a big field is, perhaps, a disadvantage 
rather than the reverse. In such large crowds, the 
necessity of getting a good start is not only merely 
advisable, but absolutely imperative, if one wishes to 
see anything of the run. 

If you want to be well accepted in an English field, 



* The only packs of native American foxhounds which compare at 
all favorably as regards color and symmetry, are the ring-necked 
Madison hounds of the Orange County Hunt, The Plains, Va., those 
of the Grafton Hunt, and the hounds belonging to Mr. Joseph Thomas. 



HUNTING ABROAD .149 

don't speak to any one unless they speak to you. The 
English are wonderfully loyal and, bar none, the best 
friends in the world, and when you get to know them 
you will perhaps agree with Balzac, that ^Hhe deeper 
the feeling the less demonstrative will be the expres- 
sion of it,'' and you will wish that there were more 
people like them. But as a nation they are hard to 
get to know; they live in a shell of reserve which they 
disHke to have even touched, and the only way to 
get on with them is to retire into just such a shell 
yourself and be equally as exclusive and reserved as 
they are. 

If you are quiet, well-mannered, well-dressed, well- 
mounted, and above all show yourself to be a fine 
horseman or horsewoman and a good sport, you will, 
before the end of the season, have no end of friends. 
As Stevenson says: *^What rehgion knits people so 
closely as a common sport?" 

Choosing one's own line at home is often difficult 
enough, but in a strange land it is almost impossible 
to attempt it without running the risk of innumerable 
falls. Unless one has had some previous experience, 
or has some standard of comparison to go by, it is 
impossible to judge what is jumpable, in the shape of 
a drain, or hedge or bank, and what is not. I remem- 
ber that on my first day out with the Meath, all the 
banks looked to me like objects in a nightmare, and 
utterly unjumpable; but after the second and third 
day, when I had discovered that these horrible-looking 
affairs were not only jumpable, but quite easily so, I 
went to the other extreme and charged what proved 
evidently to be quite unjumpable. They all looked 
alike to me, on the same principle, I suppose, that to 
an Englishman or an Irishman, unaccustomed to 



150 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

timber, a 4-foot fence looks almost as formidable as 
a 5-foot-6-inch fence does to us. 

In choosing a pilot, in order to help one out of this 
difficulty, one must remember that an English field 
is usually divided into those who comprise the first 
flight, and cut out the work for the others; those who 
follow in their lead, usually men and women of an 
older generation, who know the country so well that 
they can manage to see the run by a minimum of jump- 
ing and a maximum of short cuts; and those who, for 
the most part, "'ammer, 'ammer, 'ammer on the 'ard 
'ighroad," and constitute the "Gate Brigade." Of all, 
the latter are the most difficult and, let it be said, 
the most dangerous to follow. It may sound a very 
simple and quite infantile matter to hunt by riding 
through gates, but the remarkable beings who do it 
have reduced the opening of gates with latches like 
Chinese puzzles to a science, and, a hundred or so 
strong, they open, push through en masse, and close 
the gates with such rapidity that they often arrive 
before those who have ridden hard and straight. 
Should hounds turn sharply, the road riders then gain 
the advantage, and in such cases one feels inclined to 
lament with the man in "Riding Recollections," who 
cries out, "IVe spoilt my hat, I've torn my coat, IVe 
lamed my horse, IVe had two falls, I went first, I'll 
take my oath, from end to end, and there's that d — d 
fellow on the coffee-coloured pony gets here before me 
after all." In Ireland there is a road brigade, but no 
gate brigade, for in that country gates are so few and 
far between that even if one were obliged to pull out 
of a run, on account of lameness or some accident, it 
would be necessary to jump every blessed fence again 
that had already been crossed. 



HUNTING ABROAD 151 

It would be as absurd, as it would be impossible, to 
give any cut-and-dried way of negotiating English 
fences. Suffice it to say that the variety that is met 
with is far greater than anything encountered over 
here. Timber is scarce and rarely jumped, but the 
mild-looking *^ brush'' affairs that one is obliged to 
jump have nearly always not only a ditch on the take 
off or landing side, but are also as stiff as, and more 
treacherous than, the stiffest timber that ever graced 
Meadow Brook. These so-called *^cut and laid'' or 
''stake and bound" fences are made of hawthorn 
hedges, which have been cut down, and the branches 
bent sidewise and interlaced until they form a springy 
but impenetrable barrier, ranging anywhere from 
33/^ to 5 feet. When these same hedges are not cut 
down but allowed to grow wild, they form bullfinches, 
which, although disagreeable to negotiate, can be 
crashed through with lowered head and upraised arm. 
True, one occasionally remains hung in the branches 
while one's horse goes on, but then that is quite a 
novel and harmless experience. 

In addition to these, one occasionally meets oxers, 
either single or double, which are hedges protected 
from the cattle by a ditch and a guard rail on either 
one or both sides. Although formidable-looking ob- 
jects, any free-going horse can jump them, for it must 
not be forgotten that the average horse clears over 
twelve feet from take off to landing, and I have often 
seen a mare of mine, when schooling on the long 
reins, jmnp twenty odd feet in breadth over five feet 
six inches of timber. ''Chappie," the old-time high 
jiunper, could, for example, jump with ease five feet 
eight inches in height, covering twenty-five feet in 
distance. 



152 HACKS AND HUNTEKS 

Wide brooks are also often met with in the Shires, 
^among which the Whissendine is the most famous, 
in parts being eight feet and in others twenty-four feet 
in width. To the American who has, perhaps, ridden 
a show-ring jimaper twenty odd feet over Harry Smithes 
cardboard '^ Grafton ^^ jump this may not seem much, 
but it must not be forgotten that in the hunting field 
jumping an unknown brook, possibly from a treacher- 
ous take off, at the end of a long day, is quite another 
matter. The precept, "fast at water and slow at 
timber '^ has, as we have already seen elsewhere, been 
often overdone as regards the latter, and we can as 
easily overdo it in negotiating water. Of course, more 
speed is required successfully to jump width than 
height, but the horse must not be so extended that he 
has insufficient reserve energy left at the last stride to 
propel him over the distance. In urging him on, a 
spur, not the whip, should be used. The latter has, 
contrary to the general supposition, the effect of short- 
ening rather than lengthening an animaFs stride. 
This, therefore, applies to jimiping great width in the 
show rings as well as in the open, and it is the good 
advice I received, not to carry a whip, that enabled me, 
several years ago, to make a gray mare of mine clear 
twenty-seven feet in breadth.* 

Of course fences in England vary, as elsewhere, in 
height and stiffness and type, according to the dis- 
trict in which one happens to be hunting. In Cheshire, 
for example, although the going is often rough, and the 
fences "trappy," they are smaller than in the Mid- 
lands, for in the latter counties the main industry is 
raising horses and bullocks, who require stronger and 

* The record is, I believe, thirty-nine feet, a distance cleared by 
the great mare "Lottery," in the Liverpool Grand National. 



HUNTING ABROAD 153 

larger fences to keep them in bounds than in the former, 
where the hve stock is chiefly dairy cows. 

The ground between the fences is also quite different 
from anything we ever see over here, and what they 
consider good going would to us appear a veritable 
bog. On the other hand, I have seen Englishmen look 
with quite justifiable horror on our taking horses out 
hunting when the ground was as hard as bricks and 
covered with a thin coating of ice. The difference in 
the going undoubtedly accounts for the fact that 
whereas spavins and curbs, arising from strains in the 
heavy mud, are very common over there, over here 
they are less frequently met with than foot lameness, 
navicular, laminitis, etc. 

*^ Ridge and furrow, '^ which is a system of culti- 
vating pastureland so as to drain off the surplus 
water, is frequently met with, and should be nego- 
tiated slowly and diagonally in the same manner as 
if traversing plough. On the whole, hov/ever, in the 
best sections of English or Irish hunting centres, the 
miles and miles of soft green pastureland that one 
gallops over gives the American, accustomed to hunt- 
ing over plough, corn stubble, or rocks, an impression 
of having flown to heaven, where one hunts over golf 
courses. 

In Ireland the turf is — if such a thing be possible — 
even greener and springier than in England, but the 
going is consequently heavier, and one jirnips banks 
and drains with the horses almost up to their hocks 
in mud. These banks are often ten feet in height, and 
the drains are not ditches but rather yawning chasms. 
Occasionally, one meets a '^ double,'^ which consists of 
a drain, a bank, then another drain, and yet another 
bank, and it requires a clever horse to jump from the 



154 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

top of one bank to the other. All the banks are 
jumped almost from a standstill; tlie horses leaping 
at rather than on or over them, and climbing up them 
like flies crawling up a wall. At the top they change 
their feet and slide down the other side before jumping 
the drain at the bottom, in very much the same way 
that the Italian cavalry negotiate steep hills. In 
Irish horse shows, this proper changing of the feet at 
the top of a bank is of utmost importance, and a horse 
is scored on the way he does it, much in the way 
* Hicks'' are counted in this country. Owing to the 
fact that the least touch may bring a horse jiunping 
a bank over on top of the rider, the snaffle bridle is 
almost entirely used, and although I have heard said 
to the contrary, from personal experience I found that 
the best and safest way to negotiate an Irish bank is 
to give the horse his head entirely and sit him very 
much as you might a rearer. Wide banks, some of 
which are wide enough to enable two or three men to 
walk on them abreast, although more formidable in 
appearance than the narrow ones, are in reality far 
easier and safer to jump, for they give a foothold to 
the horse and enable him to change his legs prior to 
descending, whereas the narrow ones crumble away 
at a touch. 

Every horse that jumps over a drain pulls a bit of 
the turf away with him, and it stands to reason that 
the drain thus becomes wider and wider, and conse- 
quently those in the first flight have it easier than those 
behind, in direct contrast to hunting over a timber or 
a hedge country, where rails become broken and gaps 
appear. These Irish drains, on one or both sides of a 
bank, are as much as ten and twelve feet wide, and so 
deep that a horse and rider can ride up and down the 



HUNTING ABROAD 155 

bottom without being seen. Some of them are cov- 
ered with underbrush, and if a horse falls in he becomes 
completely hidden from view. Falls are numerous, 
but are, as a rule, not serious, for the ground is very 
soft and the fall resembles a sort of scramble rather 
than the swift and sharp catapult onto a brick-like 
ground that one gets over timber in America. The 
worst kind of an Irish fall is that in which the horse 
loses his footing in climbing up a bank and falls back 
into the drain, in which case the only thing to do is to 
throw yourself away from him as quickly as possible 
so as to avoid being crushed. Once in a drain, there 
is little, if any, possibility of catching hounds again, 
and the services of a '^wrecker," a specie of jolly but 
dirty-looking Irishman, is required to pull the horse 
out of the ditch with ropes and pulleys. These men 
station themselves at the jumps just for this sort of 
service. The most amusing experience of my hunting 
in Ireland was when my horse fell backward into a 
drain at the only jiunpable spot in that particular 
bank, thereby blocking the progress of the rest of the 
field. Realizing that I could go no farther with the 
animal, who lay sprawling on his back in the lower 
regions of a watery, dark, and deep ditch, I called to 
my groom to assist me in getting the saddle off. 
Plastered with mud, we emerged from the ditch to 
put the saddle on the groom's horse, who fortunately 
happened to be on the right side of the drain. This 
horse was able to carry me on, and eventually I caught 
up with hounds, much to the disgust of the fuming 
field, who were still trying to devise ways of jumping 
over my prostrate animal with a minimimi amount of 
danger to him and to themselves. 
Timber is scarcely ever met with in Ireland, and is 



156 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

only used to patch up gaps in the banks; but even 
when the rest of a bank is unjumpable, an Irish field 
will not attempt a small timber fence.* Once or twice 
I attempted a little three-foot fence with a ditch on 
the landing side, but it was regarded by every one 
as an extremely foolhardy and dangerous thing to 
do, and gave me, on one unforgetable occasion, the 
rather awe-inspiring feeling of being alone for a few 
heavenly moments with the Ward Union hoxmds in 
full cry. 

In Galway, in the west of Ireland, many huge stone 
walls are met with, ranging as high as five feet and 
five feet two inches, and the hunters in that district 
'Hop" them, or kick back at them with their hind legs 
instead of flying them as we would — if we could. 

In addition to the fox-hunting in England and 
Ireland there are, of course, many packs of harriers; 
and of staghounds which hunt the wild deer, in Devon, 
Bucks, and in the New Forest, as well as those which 
hunt the '^ carted '^ deer,t such as the Berks and Bucks, 
the Enfield Chace, the Mid-Kent, the Norwich, the 
Siurrey and others. 

Belonging to this last class is the famous Ward 
Union pack in Ireland. And as I look back over my 
hunting experiences I realize that it was with them 
that I had my best days. These staghounds give you 

* A fact to be remembered when importing Irish hunters with the 
expectation that they are going to jump timber. 

t These deer are kept in large and beautiful deer paddocks, and are 
taken to the spot where they are ''enlarged" from a sort of van. A 
certain amount of "law" or time is allowed the stag before the hounds 
are put on, and when the stag is eventually retaken he is sent back 
to the paddocks in the van. To all intents and purposes the stag runs 
just like a wild one, with the possible exception of the veterans, who 
are so used to the game that they often allow themselves to be taken 
much sooner than a young one will. 



HUNTING ABROAD 157 

the thrill of real hunting quite impossible to obtain 
following a drag. Moreover, none of the glorious day's 
fun results in the killing of any of the creatures of the 
wild. 

Many well-known nunting men agree that it re- 
quires quite as much intelHgence to hunt a deer as a 
fox, and what is more, as the deer seems utterly in- 
different as to how or which way he runs, one is ahso- 
lutely obliged to keep hounds in sight, for, once lost, 
no amount of hunting lore will enable one to find them 
again. When hounds are running it requires a very 
phlegmatic temperament to remember that the deer 
is only a ''carted" one. 

The pace is as fast, if not faster, than even the 
Meadow Brook drag, and the jumps as big as ever 
found in the proverbial drag that was ''laid with a 
butterfly net." The stag will jump twenty feet with 
the ease and grace of a flying bird; will give you a 
twenty-mile point and even run into the next county, 
keeping you out from dawn . to dark,* but the first 
man or woman in at the "taking" of the stag has the 
imdeniably gratifying job of saving the beautiful animal 
from the pack. 

It is true that fox-hunting is by no means as cruel 
a sport as the rabid S. P. C. A. agents would have us 
believe; that it does not brutalize its votaries — for 
if it did the British nation instead of being one of the 
kindest to animals would be the reverse. It is equally 
true that the fox probably does not possess the human 
sensitiveness with which he is endowed in John Mase- 
field's truly beautiful poem "Reynard the Fox." It 

* Occasionally when hunting these carted deer, the hounds will get 
on the scent of an "outlaw" stag, or one who, enlarged a long time 
past, has never been retaken. In this case a truly exciting day results. 



158 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

is also an undeniable fact that in fleeing from adver- 
saries the creatures of the wild are only doing what 
they have been obliged to do all their lives to escape 
from their natural enemies in the woods, and that 
chasing the fox is therefore the most natural method 
of reducing his numbers (in some countries most neces- 
sary). 

It is far and away less cruel than trapping, or than 
any method of killing by shooting.* The death that 
is dealt by a pack of hounds, although it may have 
the disadvantage of being preceded by the emotion of 
fear, is in the end so sudden as to be almost painless, 
and is swift and sure, whereas when out shooting, 
many httle animals are wounded and crawl away to 
die; nevertheless, granting all this, I personally dislike 
seeing a fox broken, and I am sure that many good 
hunting men and women, could they be brought to 
confess it, would agree with me that they are glad, 
when a fox has given them a good run, to see him go 
to earth or elude the hounds. 

Whether or not the carted deer could be hunted in 
this country is of course another matter. I beheve 
that it was once tried in Virginia but given up because 
the animal ran so long and so far that he disappeared 
altogether, truly rather a sporting proposition ! 

In any case it remains to me the most exhilarating 
and the pleasantest of all forms of hunting, and is in 
truth, ^^War without its guilt. '^ 

* Hunting a "bagged fox" is rightly considered by most real sports- 
men as not giving the fox a fair chance, and therefore being beyond 
the pale of true sport. 



CHAPTER XI 
SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 

" The peacock shows himself around, 
The turkey struts upon the ground; 
But apart from his feathers, the sporting bird 
Is rarely the one that is ever heard." 

John Van Ness. 

Public competition is one of the best means of ascer- 
taining the quahties of a horse. Accurate impressions 
can, owing to personal bias, scarcely ever be formed 
from private judgment, for records of achievement, 
when gleaned from private competitions, are apt to 
be exaggerated until the original data has grown into 
an unrecognizable and fabulous tale. 

Racing, point-to-points, tournaments, and horse 
shows, etc., are therefore more than merely a pleasant 
diversion for horse lovers. They are not only of in- 
finite value in educating public opinion, but are also 
of even greater importance in setting up a high stand- 
ard for breeders and teaching those in out-of-the-way 
localities at what they should aim. By maintaining 
a superlatively high standard, all such competitions 
have helped to place an increased money value on 
good make, shape, and manners, and thus make it 
worth while for breeders to raise first-class stock. 

If we sometimes feel discouraged and think that 
horse shows are after all a farce, that unsound and 
poor specimens often win unjustly, and that shows 
do not therefore benefit the breeding industry as much 
as they should, it is because we forget that progress, 
in any line, is always slow. ^^The world moves along 

159 



158 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

is also an undeniable fact that in fleeing from adver- 
saries the creatures of the wild are only doing what 
they have been obliged to do all their lives to escape 
from their natural enemies in the woods, and that 
chasing the fox is therefore the most natural method 
of reducing his numbers (in some countries most neces- 
sary). 

It is far and away less cruel than trapping, or than 
any method of kilHng by shooting.* The death that 
is dealt by a pack of hounds, although it may have 
the disadvantage of being preceded by the emotion of 
fear, is in the end so sudden as to be almost painless, 
and is swift and sure, whereas when out shooting, 
many httle animals are wounded and crawl away to 
die; nevertheless, granting all this, I personally dislike 
seeing a fox broken, and I am sure that many good 
hunting men and women, could they be brought to 
confess it, would agree with me that they are glad, 
when a fox has given them a good run, to see him go 
to earth or elude the hounds. 

Whether or not the carted deer could be hunted in 
this country is of course another matter. I beheve 
that it was once tried in Virginia but given up because 
the animal ran so long and so far that he disappeared 
altogether, truly rather a sporting proposition ! 

In any case it remains to me the most exhilarating 
and the pleasantest of all forms of hunting, and is in 
truth, ^^War without its guilt." 

* Hunting a "bagged fox" is rightly considered by most real sports- 
men as not giving the fox a fair chance, and therefore being beyond 
the pale of true sport. 



CHAPTER XI 
SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 

" The peacock shows himself around, 
The turkey struts upon the ground; 
But apart from his feathers, the sporting bird 
Is rarely the one that is ever heard." 

John Van Ness. 

Public competition is one of the best means of ascer- 
taining the quahties of a horse. Accurate impressions 
can, owing to personal bias, scarcely ever be formed 
from private judgment, for records of achievement, 
when gleaned from private competitions, are apt to 
be exaggerated until the original data has grown into 
an unrecognizable and fabulous tale. 

Racing, point-to-points, tournaments, and horse 
shows, etc., are therefore more than merely a pleasant 
diversion for horse lovers. They are not only of in- 
finite value in educating public opinion, but are also 
of even greater importance in setting up a high stand- 
ard for breeders and teaching those in out-of-the-way 
localities at what they should aim. By maintaining 
a superlatively high standard, all such competitions 
have helped to place an increased money value on 
good make, shape, and manners, and thus make it 
worth while for breeders to raise first-class stock. 

If we sometimes feel discouraged and think that 
horse shows are after all a farce, that unsound and 
poor specimens often win unjustly, and that shows 
do not therefore benefit the breeding industry as much 
as they should, it is because we forget that progress, 
in any line, is always slow. '^The world moves along 

159 



160 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

not only by the gigantic shoves of its hero workers, 
but by the aggregating tiny pushes of every honest 
worker/' 

We occasionally find mismanaged shows or often 
run across incompetent judges, who either give only 
a superficial glance at the horses, or who have special 
fads, or, worse yet, those who have in their minds no 
fixed standards at all, but distribute prizes as poHti- 
cians might dole out favors — to satisfy various inter- 
ests. As a general rule, however, the judges are honest 
and fair and thoroughly competent. Often horses who 
are supposed to have been turned down unfairly have 
been given the gate for a bad fault, which, though in- 
visible to the ''rail bird," is glaringly evident to the 
judge, in the centre of the ring, where he can stand 
directly behind or in front of the exhibit. Although 
poor horses do sometimes win, in the long run the 
horse that wins the most ribbons throughout the year 
is generally pretty sure to be the best at his particular 
game. Often the winner is merely the best of his par- 
ticular type, and the type selected is not that which 
many of us would favor; but each year, however, finds 
a little improvement, even in type, and the horses of 
to-day are superior in this, as in other countless ways, 
to those exhibited in the long ago. Mr. James G. Mar- 
shall has, for example, an interesting and amusing col- 
lection of menus, gotten out by the Hotel Waldorf- 
Astoria during horse-show week and ranging through 
many years of the past. At the top of each menu is 
a small picture of one of the previous year's winners, 
and it is a liberal education to study these pictures 
and note that many of the champions of those days 
would scarcely be high class enough to be placed even 
in the ribbons nowadays. 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 161 

There is still vast room for improvement, both in 
the type of horses selected for winners and in the way 
classes are worded and shows are managed. As con- 
ditions are now, for example, in many shows the 
genuine hunter has no chance of winning because the 
requirements of classes are suited only to ^^ring" 
jumpers, and the jumps constructed are such as were 
never seen in a natural hunting country. This is, of 
course, an evil that will, undoubtedly, always be bound 
to exist to a certain extent, because, at best, hunting 
and showing hunters are two very different games. 
The best ring jxmiper is often too hot to hunt, and 
the best and safest hunter in the world is often too in- 
teUigent to trouble about jumping in a ring. Never- 
theless, this difficulty is being overcome in various 
ways. The trick jumper can retain his classes, only 
other classes should be added more adapted to the 
hunter, and the requirements of entry should be strictly 
enforced, so that none but the real hunter can compete. 
For example, in such classes, 'kicking" a jump should 
be secondary to the form of jumping (an innovation 
already adopted in some shows), and when the con- 
formation is judged, more attention should be given 
to the horse's ability to do the work required of him 
and less to his being so ^^hog fat'' that he couldn't 
hunt if he tried. All such improvements, however, 
would be attempted at once if the show managements 
felt that the hunting men and women were behind 
them and would lend a helping hand instead of sneer- 
ing at shows in general and in particular at show 
jumpers. After all, even though the 'Hrick" jumper 
may be, because of temperament, or, as is often the 
case, merely from lack of experience, unable to cross a 
natural country well, he can nevertheless jump fences 



162 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

that are far above the capabilities of the ordinary 
hunter. It requires a much more perfect and careful 
fencer to win in the show ring, where every ^^tick" 
counts, than in the hunting field, where, so long as the 
horse gets over the fence, it doesn't really matter how. 
How many men and women in the average hunting 
field ever jump anything over four feet ? They may 
think they do, but when they come to measure it under 
the tape, the fence that has stopped the entire field — 
but which some bruiser has proudly boasted of jump- 
ing — ^is found to be barely four feet six inches ! And 
yet, when they see a horse in the show ring make an 
absolutely clean performance over eight post and rail 
jumps of four feet six inches or five feet, in many cases 
quite as stiff as the jumps one encounters across 
country, they call it ^Hrick" jumping, and of no ac- 
count ! I have indeed often found that much of the 
laughing at show jumpers is a case of sour grapes on 
the part of the hunting man, for one notices that very 
often when he really gets a horse good enough to win 
in the ring, he too enters the arena and stays in it as 
long as he can pull off the ribbons. Far be it from me 
not to admit that the hunter has difficulties of take 
off and landing which the show horse never encounters, 
and that he therefore requires more intelligence and 
a kindlier disposition; I merely want to emphasize 
the absurdity of sneering at those horses who, because 
of their perfect training and consequent great value, 
are rarely risked in the hunting field and are kept en- 
tirely for the show ring. ^^It is just the same as prize 
fruit, which is too good to be eaten. It is mainly dis- 
played as an exhibit of what can be done in fruit-grow- 
ing for the benefit of those who grow fruit for the 
market.'' 




From a photograph by Haas. 



Sceptre. 



One of the greatest little show mares in this country. Property of 
Mrs. Robert E. Tod. 



/] 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 163 

If only more hunting men and women would join 
the game solely for the pleasure of competition, much 
of the present "wbe pulling" and taint of profes- 
sionalism would disappear from the show ring and 
horse showing would become more of a ^^ sport" in- 
stead of merely a means of advertisement, shared by 
social climbers and horse dealers. 

Nor do I mean, when I speak of eliminating ^'pro- 
fessionahsm" from the show ring, that amateurs are 
in general any more sportsmanlike than professionals. 
On the contrary, I have found in my experience that 
many of the latter are far more graceful winners, and 
gamer losers, than the former. ^^Dick" Donnelly was, 
for example, one of those professionals against whom 
it was a pleasure to ride. He was as enthusiastic over 
the good performance of a competitor as over his own. 
He was a modest winner, a cheerful loser, and always 
ready to lend a helping hand to any one who needed 
it. He was one of the most skilled riders this country 
has ever seen, a ^'sportsman" and a *' gentleman" in 
the truest sense of the word, and one whom any ama- 
teur might do well to imitate. 

■ Now, as we have already stated, "showing" is a 
game imto itself, and it requires almost as much time 
and care and preparation as racing. Many beginners, 
passably good riders themselves, who have perhaps 
even ridden from childhood, think it is quite easy to 
go into a ring and win. In the case of a saddle horse, 
they hack the animal about any old way until a day 
or so before the show and enter him haphazard. They 
either ride him themselves, and find to their astonish- 
ment, that having ridden all their lives doesn't help 
much at this game, or they select some amateur or 
professional at the eleventh hour, and expect the horse 
to do his best under such adverse circumstances. 



164 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

It is to prevent these raw recruits in the show ring 
from making all sorts of faux pas that the following 
chapter is intended. Veterans at the game will find 
but little or nothing in the way of advice that they 
do not already know. 

The show saddle horse should be a superlatively 
fine example of the sMdle horse described in Chapter 
III, with as perfect manners and gaits as it is possible 
to obtain. Whereas a slight deficiency in training 
such as a reluctance to change leads, to back, to stand 
quietly, or refrain from jiggHng at a walk might pos- 
sibly be overlooked in an animal destined merely for 
pleasure riding, in the show animal every failing and 
fault will count materially against him. 

Generally speakng, the more *' quality'^ or breeding 
a horse possesses, the more chance he will have of win- 
ning. In England, nothing but a thoroughbred would 
have much chance, but here many Kentucky horses and 
trotting-bred varieties are found among the winners. 
Granted that a good horse of any breed or cross what- 
ever is better than a poor thoroughbred, the reason 
that so few good thoroughbred saddlers ever appear 
in the show ring here is because the judges selected 
are those who prefer the high action and peacocky 
carriage of the Kentucky horse to the smoother gaits 
of the thoroughbred. After Mr. F. Vivian Gooch came 
to America, just prior to the war, the situation changed 
in favor of the thoroughbred, but during the war few 
English judges came here, and few weU-broken thor- 
oughbreds were exhibited, so the old state of affairs 
gradually came back again, until to-day, many owners 
of handsome thoroughbreds find it useless to exhibit 
their animals. A prominent exhibitor said to me not 
long ago: ^^Yes I agree with you, I prefer to ride a thor- 
oughbred, but what's the use? If you want to win 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 165 

in the show ring you simply have to get a Kentucky 
horse." However, not all of us are so weak-minded 
as that, and we prefer to get the gate with our thorough- 
breds, knowing that if we stick it out they will come 
into their own again and give cards and spades to the 
Kentucky horse under any judge who is a real horse- 
man. 

When you have decided upon the type of horse you 
intend to show and are determined that he is good 
enough to win, the next thing to do, if you are a be- 
ginner at the game, is to try to get the advice of some 
experienced horseman. Either put your horse in the 
hands of some one who knows all about it, or if you 
wish to undertake the matter yourself, study your 
adviser's methods and place yourself under his tuition. 

Never allow a horse who is a '^novice" to be brought 
out under inauspicious circumstances, for a bad be- 
ginning is hard to eradicate from the minds of judges. 
Past performances are not supposed to count, but 
judges are only human and a, horse with a good repu- 
tation has just that much in his favor. Reputations 
among horses, as among persons, are very easy to lose 
and hard to get back. 

When the prize list arrives, make a point of study- 
ing the names of the judges, which are usually printed 
on the first page. Find out if possible their preference, 
and then if you find that you intend showing a type 
of horse that they particularly dislike — show elsewhere. 
For example, it would be simply a waste of time and 
a detriment to your horse's good name and character 
to show a Kentucky horse under a ^'Mr. Gooch," and 
similarily foolish to exhibit a thoroughbred before a 
''Major Benton." Some people advocate omitting 
the name of the judges on the prize list, claiming that 



166 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

it is more '^ sporting ^^ to exhibit without knowing who 
the judge is. This might be fair in England, where 
there are no two contending types of saddle horses, 
or here, if it were possible to establish a recognized 
^Hype,'' but otherwise it is grossly unfair to compel 
the exhibitor to go to the trouble and expense of ship- 
ping an animal to a distant show, only to find that he 
might just as well have stayed at home, since the judge 
in question can't abide this particular type of horse. 
There is perhaps another adjacent show going on at 
the same time, to which he could just as well have 
shipped and where he would have been able to win 
under a judge who knew, appreciated, and gave a fair 
chance to the type which his entries represented. For 
this reason, I think that unless absolutely imavoid- 
able, horse-show managements have no right to change 
the judges after the prize list has been published, and 
gentlemen, who have been asked to act as judges, 
should be too gentlemanly to consent to act, knowing 
all the time that they do not intend to be present. 

The next thing to do in studying the prize Hst, is to 
select and enter only in those classes for which the 
horse is suited. Careful and judicious ''placing," both 
as to the judges before whom the horse is to appear 
and the classes in which he will be exhibited, is the 
secret of many successes. I have so often seen owners 
bitterly disappointed at their failure to win a ribbon, 
when the sole reason was because the horse was placed 
in the wrong class, either a road hack appearing in a 
park hack class or an animal who was really a splendid 
lightweight specimen, attempting to win a ribbon in 
a middleweight class. This sort of wrong placing is for- 
tunately being eliminated in the hunter classes at Madi- 
son Square Garden and elsewhere, and if a horse is 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 167 

found to be entered in the wrong weight division, he 
is placed in the proper classes by the judges. This, 
however, cannot be done in saddle classes, and if the 
horse is not up to the weight required, as, for example, 
in the 200-pound class, he simply gets the gate with- 
out explanation. 

If you intend showing a new star for whom you have 
great hopes, be careful not to make the mistake of 
bringing him out first at some small local show, where 
he wiU compete in mediocre company and is bound to 
win. For if this show, no matter how small it may 
be, is a ''recognized" show,* your star's first blue rib- 
bon will render him ineligible to compete in some really 
worth-while novice class at a big show. Possibly this 
very class might have been the only one in which he 
had a chance to win, owing to the fact that he is still 
too young or green to compete successfully in an open 
class among veterans. 

The following aids in placing horses and the re- 
quirements of different classes may be of assistance 
to the beginner: 

Much has been written about the difference between 
a park hack and a road hack, but the difference is so 
subtle that it is almost as hard to define as that elusive 
word ''charm" on which debating societies write es- 
says. Both park and road hacks must be well formed, 
have good flat-footed walks, square trots, and easy 
canters, but the park hack must be more brilliant and 
flashy. This generally means that he carries a higher 
head and dock, and has more knee action at the trot. 

*A recognized show is one which is "acknowledged" by the Asso- 
ciation of American Horse Shows, and managed under its rules. Since 
the establishment of this association many small local and club shows, 
at which a horse formerly could win a blue and still be accounted a 
novice, are now recognized shows, and should be shown at with caution. 



168 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

Although, to my way of thinkmg, the easy can6er 
should be the paramount gait when travelling on the 
road or in the country, and the trot should be more 
or less reserved for the park, the judges seem to think 
differently, and in most road classes in this country 
the canter is altogether neglected and a horse who 
trots a 2.20 gait, wins the road hack class. It is in- 
deed sometimes rather hard to tell exactly what the 
judges do consider a park hack or a road hack. I 
remember once showing a snappy little thorough- 
bred called '^ Northman" at Brooklyn, where he got 
the gate in every class but the road class, in which 
he apparently was highly thought of on account of 
his superb canter. The following autumn, mtending 
to show at Mineola, I was tempted to enter him in 
nothing but the road class, but, fortunately, thought 
better of it and took a chance at the other classes. 
This proved to be a most happy decision, for he won 
every class straight through, including the champion- 
ship, with the sole exception of the road hack class in 
which the horses were not even asked to canter once. 
The judge, a personal friend of mine, came up to me 
during the class and said, sotto voce: '^ Too bad. This 
time he's in the wrong class, you see he can't trot fast 
enough." 

In England, where the people really use the horses 
they show, and where the canter is the favored gait, 
there is no marked distinction between the park and 
the road hack; in fact, there is no such thing as a park 
hack, and the classes are divided simply into ^'riding 
horses," which include weight-carrying horses and 
cobs, and *' saddle horses" or simply ''hacks" em- 
bracing all others. The ''covert" hack bears no re- 
semblance to our "road" hack. He is simply sup- 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 169 

posed to be a good-looking horse of saddle type, a sur- 
vival of the horse used in the days before the motor, 
to carry one swiftly, easily, and gently to the meet, 
at a delightful ten-mile-an-hour canter — the sole gait 
at which he ever travelled. He was, moreover, sup- 
posed to be able to jump anything up to about three 
feet six inches in height, so that, at a pinch, one could 
take short cuts to the meet. However, I presume it is 
quite natiu-al that over here neither road nor park 
hacks are supposed to canter much, since our roads 
are hard and our park bridle paths harder still. Al- 
though, if I had my choice, I would reverse the order 
of things, and insist that the park, and not the road 
hack had the fast trot, I can quite readily understand 
that until our roads are improved little attention will 
be paid to the canter. 

In classes for the best-trained saddle horse ability 
to change leads quickly and neatly, to stand absolutely 
still when being mounted, etc., is necessary. Any 
little high school trick such, as ability to ^^ passage^' 
or ^Hraverse" will, of course, count in the horse^s favor. 

In appointment classes care must be taken that 
both horse and rider are turned out correctly to the 
most minor detail— tabulated lists of which are given 
under the chapter on dress. 

The preparation of a show horse should always 
begin long before the entries close, as in most cases 
that date is set only a week or two prior to the event. 

In getting a saddle horse ready, assuming that he 
is broken at least in a rudimentary sense, he should 
be given only a short daily work-out, but a '^ snappy" 
one. Hunters may be given long slow work, but in 
saddle-horse ''preping" the animal should only be 
trotted so long as he is brilliant at that gait, and never 



170 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

be allowed to tire or ^4et down/^ For the average 
show horse about one half-hour daily is sufficient to 
keep him fit and enable him to put on flesh. The mis- 
take must not be made, however, of giving the horse 
so little work that he is too fresh to strike a flat-footed 
walk or trot in the ring, but jiggles and prances all 
the time. To prevent this he must have his slow work- 
out even the day of the show, and preferably early in 
the morning. 

When a horse is being trained for a show he should 
be taught to stand quietly while being mounted, pref- 
erably with no one at his head. Stablemen have an 
abominable habit of everlastingly holding a horse's 
head when you are arranging the reins. Although, as 
a general practice, it is not wise to mount or to arrange 
one's skirt, etc., with the reins lying on the horse's 
neck, nevertheless it is a good thing to accustom a 
show horse to this. Once ready to start, pick your 
reins up very gently and arrange them, not letting the 
horse move until you touch him with your heel or 
otherwise give him the signal to go on. If he does move 
before you wish him to do so, speak to him sharply 
and rein him back, but never jerk him. Attention 
to these details counts in favor of a horse's manners 
in the ring. 

When walking your show prospect, always start 
him off on a flat-footed walk, and if he attempts to 
jiggle, quiet him by putting your hand on his crest 
and speaking soothingly to him. Often a horse who 
will not walk quietly at first can be taught to do so 
later in the day, when he is not so fresh, but great pa- 
tience is required to get results, and it is seldom wise 
to teach a refractory horse to walk on the homeward 
journey, as he will then be sure to be impatient. 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 171 

In trotting, never go beyond a collected pace, and 
only trot your mount for those few moments at a time 
during which he can keep his trot at its top-most pitch 
of brilliance. Always stop him and return to a walk 
before his trot is flagging in snap.* 

Insist that he always break to a canter from a walk 
or a standstill and never from a trot, and see that he 
leads on the leg desired. As horses usually go around 
the show ring to the right, prompt breaking on the 
off fore leg is absolutely essential. 

Backing nicely must also be included in his accom- 
plishments. Whenever possible, accustom the show 
prospect to all sorts of sounds and sights; to motors, 
music, clapping of hands, waving of flags and crowds 
of people. One prominent exhibitor hires the village 
people to come and make a fearful racket, outside the 
training ring of his stables, while the horses are at 
work. 

One thing is quite certain, namely, the novice must 
make up his mind at the start that a show horse can- 
not be hacked about by the average, indifferent rider, 
if he is to be kept in show form. To win he must be 
'^hog faf and just enough above himself to be bril- 
liant. 

On the other hand, although careless riding will 
ruin a champion in an astonishingly short time, I do 
not believe that judicious hacking, between shows and 
in the off season, by a careful rider, will hurt any show 
horse, t I myself have ridden /^Fairyhill," the Cham- 

* If a horse will not trot he can sometimes be induced to do so by 
laying one's hand on his crest, or even grasping one ear for a moment. 
Of course the latter can never be done in the show ring. 

t A suitable place for hacking the show animal must, of course, be 
selected. Central Park, for example, is no fit place, as it is too hard 
for cantering, or even trotting. 



172 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

pion of Olympia, and ^^ Turquoise/' the unbeaten 
Champion of England, France, Belgium, and Holland, 
on long rides through Windsor forest, and their trainer, 
Mr. Vivian Gooch, that past master of the art, would 
think one had gone clean crazy to wrap a show horse 
up in pink cotton wool, j&guratively speaking, as one 
does here in America, and never allow even the owner 
to see the animal except in hoods and blankets. Per- 
haps, however, in all justice to our American system, 
one is bound to admit that it is easier for English people 
to hack their show animals than it is for us; for over 
there, as already stated, the judges set more store by 
a good canter than by a good trot, and the canter 
naturally suffers far less from promiscuous hacking 
about than does the trot. 

In hacking a show animal, the rider must in any 
case always remember during every moment that his 
horse is a show horse, and that he must always be rid- 
den just as carefully and exactly as if he were in the 
ring. He must never for a moment be allowed to loaf, 
to break into a canter without the signal, or canter 
on the wrong leg. In this way only can a show horse 
be hacked about and still retain his brilliance. If you 
are not painstaking enough to do this, if you are not 
a good-enough rider to show him yourself, I would 
not advise your hacking him, for the man or woman 
who is to show him for you, will go through the heart- 
breaking job of seeing him lose all that he has learned. 
For the same reason lending show horses to a friend 
is a perilous business. 

It is best to avoid clipping the horse just prior to 
a show, unless the coat looks rough or unkempt, or 
the horse sweats enough to make him lose weight. 
If he must be clipped, do it only a day or two before 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 173 

the show, as he looks better then than when the coat 
is half grown out. The saddle mark should always 
be left undipped to protect the back, but it is totally 
incorrect and out of place to clip a saddle horse hunter 
style, i. 6., with the legs left unchpped. Whether 
cHpped or undipped, the fetlocks, ears, and nostrils 
should be trimmed before the show. 

The mane and tail of a well turned out hack should 
be neatly trimmed, and if we follow the broad lines 
laid down by nature, the result will be neither inar- 
tistic nor artificial, but will bear the same comparison 
to the flowing mane of the wild horse as the elegant 
coiffure of the lady does to the unkempt locks of the 
peasant girl. 

If a horse is a thoroughbred, or a well bred animal, 
his mane, which previously should have been shortened 
to a few inches in length, must be neatly braided up 
like a race-horse (see illustration facing page 32) and 
should lie flat against his neck rather than in nasty little 
upright knobs. Black shoe thread should always be 
used for the braiding, as colored wool savors too much 
of the dealer's yard and looks cheap and vulgar. 

A neatly pulled, properly braided mane presents 
a far smarter and prettier appearance than the straight 
line produced by ''hogging." If, however, the animal 
is imderbred or has a short thick neck, he will prob- 
ably look better hogged, as this tends to make the 
neck longer and finer and appears to give the animal 
''another cross of blood.'' When a horse is thus 
trimmed, the clippers should be very carefully run over 
the mane, just prior to the show, so as to make it 
smooth and neat. Roached manes, or those in which a 
fine line is left standing upright, called "herringboned, " 
are in no case correct, while a long, flowing mane, like 
the full, flowing tail, looks unkempt and untidy. 



174 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

The tail should be carefully pulled at the dock,* 
so as to remove all the unnecessary short feathery 
hairs underneath. Only those, however, on the under 
side of the dock should be pulled and those on top 
should never be touched, but forced to lie flat by 
bandaging. The prettiest tail for a hack is that which 
is pulled at the butt, grows full toward the bottom, 
and then is absolutely evenly squared off just a little 
above the hocks. Next best to this is the tail that is 
switched. 

Under no circimistances should a horse ever be 
docked. Fortunately fashion never decreed that the 
thoroughbred should be docked, and now, thank good- 
ness, the disgusting practice of docking poor half-bred 
horses has also gone out of fashion. Originally it was 
merely a dealer^ s trick, to make the animal's quarters 
look broader, and owners were inveigled into believing 
that it looked *' smart." But to any real horseman or 
humane lover of animals it could never be anything but 
a disgusting, senseless, and cruel practice. The actual 
pain caused by the operation is nothing compared 
to the misery, to which a tailless horse is subjected in 
the summertime, particularly if turned out to grass. 
Docked horses are unable to defend themselves against 
the swarms of flies which attack them, and in order 
to rid themselves of the pests they are obUged to stamp 
incessantly until the concussion is likely to injure their 
feet. Watch a long-tailed and a short-tailed animal 
grazing, and you will observe, that the former seldom 
makes a move with his feet, while the latter is con- 
stantly stamping and throwing his head back to his 



* All hairs should be removed by pulling. This is not painful un- 
less too much is attempted at once. Scissors should never be touched 
to a tail, nor should the groom be permitted to use a comb on it, as 
this thins it lamentably. 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 175 

flanks to rid himself of the insects. Moreover, besides 
its office as fiy-swisher, the tail also protects the horse 
from the rain.* In a storm horses turn their backs 
to the rain, knowing that the drops will drip harmlessly 
off the tail. 

From an artistic standpoint, docking horses is 
nothing short of a disfigurement, since all symmetry 
is thereby destroyed. Aside from its utihtarian pur- 
pose as "rear steering gear" and "fly-swisher," the 
tail at one end of the body counterbalances the head 
and neck at the other. The ridiculous stump of a 
docked horse resembles nothing so much as a "tea- 
pot with th3 spout intact and the handle broken off.'' 

The horse should generally be shod three or four 
days before the show. If he is to wear heavy shoes 
to increase his action, these should be put on as late 
as possible, otherwise their effect will wear off. They 
should likewise be removed immediately after the 
show to save the horse's feet and ease the strain that 
heavy shoes cause on the tendons. The exact shape 
or weight of show shoes for any given horse must of 
course be determined in each individual case, and an 
expert blacksmith employed. Some blacksmiths make 
a specialty of shoeing show horses, and can, after ob- 
serving the animal move, forge a shoe best adapted 
to him. 

Great care must be taken that the horse is not 
"pricked" in shoeing, which might cause sufficient 
lameness on the day of the show to ruin the animal's 
chances. For this reason, not only should a competent 
stud-groom always accompany the horse to the shop, 

* The same thing applies to the mane, which was intended by nature 
to prevent the rain soaking into the roots of the hair and to protect 
the animal's vertebra from the hot rays of the sun. 



176 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

but also it is generally unwise to allow the horse's feet 
to be touched prior to a show by a strange blacksmith 
or by the smith on the show grounds, unless it is ab- 
solutely necessary. 

The proper kind of bridle and saddle to use on the 
show hack will be discussed in detail in Chapter XV. 
Suffice it here to say, that a double bridle should be 
used, with sewn-in reins and headstall, plain, stitched 
nose-band,* and the front or brow-band, and should be 
of colored braided ribbon. The saddle must be of some 
good make, preferably with a narrow ^'off^' flap and 
with a pigskin seat. It should be leather-Hned and 
fitted with leather girths. No martingales are per- 
mitted in the ring. The horse should be exercised in 
the bridle that he is to wear and become accustomed 
to going without a martingale. 

Over long distances horses may be shipped to a show 
by express-train or boat, providing that the service 
is good and that the animals do not have to change 
cars or require to be shunted to and fro at railway 
terminals. Care should be taken in loading that one's 
horses are not placed near other strange animals from 
whom they may catch disease. It is also of great im- 
portance that the horses be suitably blanketed, so 
that they do not ^' break out" and then become chilled 
when emerging into the air again. Under no circum- 
stances should horses be sent, even for a short dis- 
tance, without an attendant, and as an added precau- 
tion they should also be tagged. 

Shipping horses by van, although more expensive, 

* At one time there was a ridiculous fashion prevalent in which the 
nose-band was left off altogether. The most recent fad is to use a 
white buckskin nose-band, which, however, gives a "spotty" effect, 
and detracts rather than adds to the horse's appearance. 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 177 

is the best way if the distance is less than 150 miles; 
beyond that distance I think train travel, if the service 
is good, is perhaps less tiring than an endless motor 
journey over bumpy roads. 

Under most circumstances it is advisable for horses 
to arrive at the show grounds a day, or even more, 
before they are to exhibit, depending, of course, on 
the length of their journey. . 

Sending saddle horses to a show over the road is 
not advisable; they are seldom in fit and hard con- 
dition, as might be the case with jumpers or hunters, 
are often laden down with heavy shoes, and any slight 
loss of flesh is bound to count against them. 

On arriving, the horses should be at once attended 
to, and, if chilled, given a drench of whiskey and quinine 
and a hot mash that night. Some horses go off their 
feed if obliged to drink hard water to which they are 
not accustomed, in which case the water should be 
softened with a few handfuls of bran. 

The stabling accommodations at a show should, in 
the case of large shows, be reserved long before the 
entries close, for the best ones are quickly snatched 
up. It is not fair to expect a horse accustomed to a 
box stall to do his best, if he is required during the 
week of the show, to adapt himself to a straight stall. 
Whenever possible, it is wise to engage stalls in some 
near-by private stable in preference to stabling one's 
horses on the show grounds, where there is less quiet 
and where they are more apt to contract diseases. 

One extra box stall should be reserved when pos- 
sible in which to keep one's tack, and in which box the 
groom should be persuaded to sleep to insure the safety 
of the horses. Failing this, padlocks are a good sub- 
stitute. The race-track is not the only home of crooks. 



178 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

As a horse always goes better if the saddle has been 
on his back for a little while, he should not be saddled 
up at the last minute, but be ready fifteen minutes 
or so before his class is called. The girths and the 
balance strap should, however, be left loose until one 
is ready to mount. It is a good plan for the exhibitor 
to keep his eye on the programme, so that, if, as is 
usually the case, the classes are running behind time, 
the horse need not be gotten ready too soon. 

Always mount a little while before your class is 
called to get your horse's back down, to straighten 
out his paces, and to warm yourself into the saddle. 

Do not wait until the last moment to see that your 
bridle fits or that your saddle is properly girthed. Re- 
member that preparedness is the secret of most suc- 
cess in the show ring, as in everything else in life. After 
you have been in the saddle a while tighten up your 
girths and balance strap, but be careful that they are 
not cinched up too tight. In fact, unless you know 
exactly what hole the balance strap should go in, it is 
best never to seek the aid of some strange groom at the 
last moment, for he may cinch it up too tight, and your 
horse will act up. 

Try to enter the ring first, when possible, or last, 
but in any case not '4n a bunch,'' for this starts your 
horse off all wrong. If your mount has a good snappy, 
flashy trot, enter at that gait and keep trotting until 
he has '^ settled" down and all the other entries are 
in the ring. If your horse tires quickly, however, and 
is a steady-going animal, it would be best to enter on 
a walk and reserve his strength for later. In no case 
would it be advisable to come into any horse-show 
ring in America on a canter. At whatever gait you 
may select, do not in any case be alarmed by the '^ring- 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 179 

master/^ who will command you on entering at once 
to walk in single file. Nod pleasant acquiescence to 
him and continue on your way, as you may deem most 
advisable. You may rest assured that the ^^old hands" 
at the game are not likely to be overawed by the ring- 
master, so that if you alone obey him and try to enter 
at a walk when your horse is still far from steady, you 
may so upset the animal, that he will be at a disad- 
vantage throughout the rest of the class. 

When you see that all the entries have come in the 
ring, the gate is closed and business of the day has 
begun, pull your horse into a flat-footed walk, and if 
he has been properly broken, let him walk quietly 
with head loose, but without sprawling. Never slow 
up your horse's walk merely to keep in single file at 
the order of the ringmaster, for, if your mount is fast 
enough to pass his competitors on a flat-footed walk, 
it is to his advantage to do so, and to do so, if possible, 
directly under the judges' eyes. In order to bring your 
horse as much to the fore as possible, always take the 
inside circle of the ring. Never allow yourself to be 
"blanketed," that is hidden from the judges' view by 
some other horse walking between you and the judges, 
and while looking out that no one plays this trick on 
you, be equally careful never to play it on any one 
else. Cut the corners of the ring a bit, and particularly 
that end of the ring at which the judges are not stand- 
ing, but don't practise it too "markedly," or your 
friend the ringmaster will call you down in a sententious 
voice. 

When the command "trot" is given, gather your 
reins gently and set your horse at the pace at which 
he trots best, just as fast and no faster than he can go 
collectedly, irrespective of what your neighbors may 



180 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

be doing. Pass any one you like, but don't race, and 
when the judges come to the rail and stand in front 
of your approaching mount to see his action from in 
front, do not alter his pace, but keep right on. It is 
the judges' business to get out of the way and not your 
business to avoid them. The same might be said of 
the ringmasters and totally superfluous grooms, who 
bestrew the ring, and whom I prefer to knock down 
rather than pull my horse out of his stride. If you 
have to wake your horse up by a touch of whip or spur, 
keep your eye on the judges, and try to do so when 
their backs are turned. Don't waste your horse's 
energy or your own unnecessarily, but make him go 
most brilliantly and do his best when passing the 
judges. To do this you have to have your eyes in the 
back of your head, but you soon get used to it, and 
become as clever at watching every move of the judges, 
as a cat watching a mouse. 

In giving these instructions, I am, of course, taking 
for granted that the actual ^^ riding" of your horse 
has long since become automatic, but if it ha'fe not, 
and you and your horse are very ^' green" the best 
thing to do is to forget the judges and do what you 
can to ride your horse advantageously. 

After the trot, the horses will be asked to walk again, 
before the command of '^canter" is given. During 
this short walk, avoid getting into a crowd of horses, 
as this will make it difficult for you to start your horse 
into a canter properly. Get as near the rail as possible, 
so that at the given command you can turn your horse's 
head to the rail, touch his flanks (to keep his hindquar- 
ters out), and break into a canter more easily than 
if you are away from a the rail. 

As the horses are usually going round to the right. 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 181 

your mount should lead on his off or right foot. The 
slower the canter the better, for a horse that can canter 
on a 'Hen-cent-piece," is very highly thought of. In 
this particular, the thoroughbred has it all his own 
way, for there are few horses that can beat him at it. 

A few judges require that each horse start canter- 
ing at a given point in front of them, which is a very 
good idea, as in no other way can a judge tell in a large 
field of horses whether each individual has broken on 
his proper foot at the first attempt. 

At some shows the figure eight is required, and each 
horse is expected to change leads properly in the centre 
of the ring. If he is troublesome in doing this, it is 
best to pull him up in the centre and tart him on the 
other foot rather than attempt to swing him into a 
change, as might be done with a more properly schooled 
horse. In championship classes, or special challenge- 
cup competitions, the riders are sometimes requested, 
one at a time, to canter their horses up and down the 
rail, leading first on one leg and then on the other. 
To do this, go about it quietly, keep your horse^s head 
near the rail with his hindquarters out and break him 
almost from a standstill; at the top turn him around, 
toward and not away from the rail, again point his 
head toward the rail and start him down the other way 
on the other lead. If there are many ''rail birds " who 
are thoughtlessly leaning over the edge fluttering pro- 
grammes, etc., do not hesitate to speak to them and 
ask them please to draw their heads and* hands in. 

In breaking a horse into a canter, or changing leads, 
learn to tell if he is on the right leg by the "feeP' 
and by the "play" of his shoulder muscles. Don't lean 
over the side and look down at his feet, as so many 
riders do, as if you had to see which foot he was leading 



182 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

on. It is a sign of very poor horsemanship to do this 
and a habit that even long after you have learned to 
tell by the feel alone is hard to overcome. Besides 
which, as Mr. Gooch smiHngly pointed out, it gives 
the judges the impression that there are doubts in 
your mind whether your mount will break right or 
not, whereas you really wish to give the impression 
that there isn't a shadow of doubt that he will. 

During the canter your horse will probably be called 
in. Either the '^ discards'' are left to the last or they 
are weeded out first, a process which is by far the sim- 
pler in a class of horses where there is no outstanding 
winner. In lining up for the judges' inspection, the 
spot nearest the judges' stand is most sought after, 
as this is thought to be the blue-ribbon winner's cor- 
ner. It doesn't, however, make a particle of difference 
where you stand if you are on a good one, so don't 
be undignified enough to scuffle for this position; re- 
membering that the only necessary precaution to take 
in lining up is not to get into a bunch or allow your- 
self to be hidden away in a crowd of horses. If neces- 
sary, pull out a Httle beyond the Une of horses so as 
to allow your horse sufficient '^ posing" room. Don't 
ask a groom to hold your animal's head unless he is 
extremely fidgety, but let the reins hang loosely on 
his neck. Make him stand fairly and squarely on all 
four feet, without slouching or resting one foot, but 
don't '^spread" him with his fore and hind feet 
stretched way apart in the style so beloved of grooms. 

If asked to strip your horse, see that the groom uses 
some alacrity in unsaddling, for I have always been 
of the opinion that in a hot contest the one who steps 
lively and keeps his horse to the fore, other things 
being equal, will have a better chance at the ribbon. 



SHOWING SADDLE HORSES 183 

I have judged just a wee bit myself, and know that 
in many cases it is nip and tuck between two horses, 
and the animal who makes the best final impression 
wins out. Therefore, in leading the horse out, throw 
the reins over his head, make him stand quite squarely, 
and try to keep him alert with pricked ears by at- 
tracting his attention. Above all, hold him yourself 
and don^t hand him over to some indifferent groom 
who may let him sprawl or slouch. 

After this final inspection, it is usually all over but 
the "shouting,'' and there is nothing more to do but 
saddle up and wait decisions. If you win, for heaven's 
sake look pleasant and don't acquire the blase look so 
many of our parvenu exhibitors affect in order to pre- 
tend they are so used to it all that it doesn't really 
matter; if you lose, lose gracefully and don't begin 
long yarns of excuses, or, worse yet, start kicking at the 
judges and accuse them of partiality. In nine cases 
out of ten the best horse has won. 

Horse showing is a game, not a business, and the 
fun of it should consist not in the actual number of 
ribbons won, but in the joy of competition, the pleasure 
of riding good-looking horses, and the company of other 
horse lovers. The motto of every exhibitor of horses 
should be: 

"Not the quarry but the chase. 
Not the laurel but the race, 
Not the hazard but the play, 
Let me enjoy alway." 



CHAPTER XII 

SHOWING HUNTERS AND JUMPERS 
"Always try to excel; not others, but yourself." 

Just as. the show hack is merely an especially fine 
saddle horse, so is the show hunter, as far as conforma- 
tion is concerned, merely a superlatively fine hunter. 
When it comes to the "performance" of the animals, 
however, we find, as already stated, that many an ex- 
ceptional hunter is nevertheless absolutely no. good 
in the ring and vice versa; that many brilHant show- 
ring jumpers — especially among those kept for show 
work pure and simple, and which travel around the 
circuit year after year, are no good in the field. 

The ideal combination of hunter and show-ring per- 
former is very hard to find. If you happen to have a 
good-looking hunter it wiU do him no harm to show 
him, providing that it is not overdone. You should, 
of course, not school him too often over brush or over 
easily knocked down jumps, which might lead him 
to take chances in the hunting field. Also if he shows 
a marked dislike for the game, it were better not to 
force him to do it, for fear of spoiling his temper. On 
the other hand, I know of no case in which judicious 
hunting would hurt the show-ring performer, and as 
a general rule it only freshens him up and makes him 
keener than ever. 

In saddle classes, as we have already seen, thorough- 
bred blood only counts favorably under certain judges, 
but in hunter classes the better bred a horse is, other 

things being equal, the more likely he is to win. For 

184 



SHOWING HUNTERS AND JUMPERS 185 

even with an inferior performance, his breeding and 
''quahty" give him something in hand, and half-bred 
or conmion horses will be obliged to jump rings around 
him before they can beat him. 

In entering a hunter in a show the same precau- 
tions as to the shows selected, the judges under whom 
he is to appear,* and the type of classes entered should 
be taken as with the saddle horse. 

The preparation of a show hunter begins as with 
a saddle horse: about three or four weeks prior to 
the event. He can, however, be more generally hacked 
around than the show hack, and nothing is better 
for his training than long, slow walking for two or three 
hours a day,t alternating with an occasional day to 
hounds to make him keen. It must be remembered, 
however, that if you intend to show a horse, though 
he can be mildly hunted he cannot be roughly banged 
around, and the pleasure of '^pounding" the field must 
be foregone for some time prior to a show. Individual 
horses vary, of course, and the amount of work or 
hunting they can get depends largely upon whether 
they go off their feed, lose weight, or go sore after hunt- 
ing. In any case, I would advise taking the precau- 
tion of bandaging the prospective show hunter when- 
ever he is hunted or schooled, and I do not think that it 
would be wise to risk taking him out with hounds for 
the last ten days prior to a show, for the least cut or 
bruise or kick which he might get, insignificant though 

* The difference among the hunter judges is not so marked as in 
saddle classes, owing to the fact that there are not distinct "types" of 
hunters. Of course, some judges are unduly hard on a half-bred, and 
will actually look at nothing but a thoroughbred; but in most cases a 
good horse of any breed is as likely to win under one hunter judge as 
another. 

fSlow trotting wp-hUl is also an excellent way to muscle up a 
hunter. 



186 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

it was in itself, would put him out of the running. 
Above all; in preparing for a show, don't let any one 
but the regular groom hack him, and he should prefer- 
ably only be hunted or schooled by the person intend- 
ing to show him. 

The schooling of an absolutely green horse should, 
of course, begi"n many many months prior to his debut. 
For the moment, however, we will merely discuss pre- 
paring for a show a horse who has already learned the 
A B C of jumping, or one who is possibly a qualified 
hunter. If the latter, he has to be gotten used to 
'^made'^ fences, and must be taught that turning at 
a fence means business, and that slovenly jumping 
and 'kicking'' will not be allowed. 

Begin three or four weeks before the show; take 
your prospective show horse and lark him over a few 
three-feet-six-inch fences, or use him cub-hunting a 
couple of times. Vary this with an occasional jump in 
the schooling ground,* say twice a week, and for the 
first week keep the fences as low as three feet six inches 
and jump him only once or at most twice at a time 
round a course of eight jumps. As the day of the show 
approaches the bars may gradually be raised higher. 

For five-foot classes, or triple-bar jumpsf special 
practice may be required, but as a general rule four 

* When possible, the schooling ground or paddock should not be 
near the stables, for if they are, horses are far more apt to sulk and 
turn sour. If feasible, try and find out what sort of jumps are going 
to be erected at the forthcoming show, and then put up a few of this 
kind, temporarily, in order to accustom your horse to them. 

t A great deal of schooHng over the triple bar is inadvisable as it is 
inclined to make a horse extend himself too much. The same may be 
said of excessive practice over broad jumps. In fact, I have foimd that 
in the case of the Grafton Broad jump, composed of cardboard boxes, 
a free-going bold jumper will be more incKned to clear them well, be- 
fore he has had too much opportunity to become famiHar with them, 
and to reahze that it does not hurt to jump into them. 




Palmetto — over the triple bar 




Confidence making the world's record of eight feet one-half inch 
at the Syracuse Horse Show. Dick Donnelly up. 



SHOWING HUNTERS AND JUMPERS 187 

feet four inches is high enough to school over. If a 
horse has learned to jump this well and has acquired 
confidence in himself by never hearing the bars rattle 
behind him, or if he has never been asked to do more 
than he is capable of, he will jump a few inches higher 
in the show ring without any trouble. 

If a horse refuses or makes a mistake, take him back 
over the jump at which he offended, until he does it 
perfectly, but go quietly and gently about it and don^t 
lose your temper. When he has done it well, take 
him home. Don't be over-critical with a horse in- 
clined to turn sour, and if, after a refusal or mistake, 
he clears the jump with a slight tick, let it go at that 
rather than spoil his temper. Although it is true that 
some horses refuse from having had too little jumping, 
and that when out hunting it is more apt to be the 
first rather than the last fence at which a horse refuses, 
nevertheless, most horses refuse from too much jump- 
ing, and more horses are spoiled from too much school- 
ing than from too little. 

The best possible way of giving a horse plenty of 
practice at jumping, without running the risk of sour- 
ing him, is to give him lessons in jumping on the '4ong 
reins.'' In this way far more jumps can be taken at 
one session, and the jumps can be made much higher 
than would be wise to ride a horse over. The effect of 
this is to make all jumps thereafter in the show ring 
or hunting field look absurdly small to him. Unfor- 
tunately, few persons are capable of handling the long 
reins sufficiently well to school a horse with them.* 

Much of the preliminary jumping may be omitted 

* Schooling in a corral is excellent in many ways, and for some horses, 
but it can never take the place of the education that a horse can re- 
ceive on the "long reins." 



188 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

with a veteran show-ring jumper, but in any case 
he must be regularly exercised to get him fit, or he may 
be mildly hunted until about ten days before the show, 
and jumped once or twice over a four-foot-four-inch 
jump to show him what is wanted of him. It must be 
remembered that in order to jump well his "jumping 
muscles'' must be in good condition. 

Schooling in pairs, or one after the other, is not ad- 
visable, as it is apt to make a horse too hot. Even if 
horses have been entered in a pair class, with a Httle 
judgment and good horsemanship on the part of the 
riders, animals who have never jumped together can 
make a very creditable performance in the ring. As a 
general rule all schooling should be stopped about a 
week before the show in order to freshen the horse 
up. The main thing to remember, in schooHng hunters 
for a show, is not to get them sour, or stale, for they 
will go far more brilHantly in a ring if they are not 
sick of their work. Time and time again I have seen 
grooms unwittingly ruin a good horse by putting him 
over the same jump, over and over again and higher 
and higher, until he eventually refused or made a mis- 
take, whereupon they felt obliged to fight him to a 
finish. 

The hunter may be clipped or not, according to the 
state of his coat, and whether or not he will be ex- 
pected to hunt. In any case, in addition to leaving a 
saddle mark on him, his legs should also be left un- 
dipped.* 

The manes of thoroughbred hunters should be 
braided in the same manner recommended for saddle 

* The line where the undipped portion ends should be straight, and 
the effect given as workmanlike and simple as possible. Rounding the 
line, as if the animal wore trousers, is senseless and ugly. 



SHOWING HUNTERS AND JUMPERS 189 

horses, while on common horses they may be hogged. 
The tails should be slightly pulled at the butt and 
banged at the hocks (see illustration facing page 10), 
or switched. The style adopted should be that which 
is best suited to the animal's general conformation. 

The bridles used should be of whatever type in which 
the horse goes best, either double or single, with a plain 
leather front and a Cavasson nose-band (see Chapter 
XV). Martingales and breastplates are optional. The 
saddle should be of a good comfortable hunting type. 
All appointments for hunter classes are given in detail 
in the lists appended to Chapter XVI. 

On preparing to enter the ring, mount your horse a lit- 
tle while before his class, and see that your tack is in 
order. If possible, canter or trot around a bit outside of 
the ring to warm him up, or, at an indoor show, walk up 
and down on the stable floor; no horse can be expected 
to do his best straight out of his stall. If you have 
been unable to move around before entering the ring, 
the next best thing to do is to canter once around 
the centre of the ring on entering it and before you 
straighten the horse at his first jump. ' 

While you are waiting your turn to go in, cast a 
quick glance over the jumps and notice whether they 
have been put up straight after the last contestant 
has knocked them down. The men who build up the 
jumps in the ring are ignorant, and often place the 
bars with one end higher than the other or at a dif- 
ferent height from that at which the last horse jumped. 
The committee and judges are supposed to see that this 
sort of thing does not happen, but very few judges 
pay much attention to it, and it is generally up to the 
exhibitor to look out for his own welfare. Therefore, 
if you see a bar that is crooked or a wing that is not 



190 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

properly placed, do not hesitate to ride up to the ring- 
master and politely ask him to change it before you 
jump. No one will think less of you for this, but, on 
the contrary, they will realize that you are a real horse- 
man or horsewoman. 

A good hunting pace is preferred by most judges, 
but it is always best to regulate one's gait according 
to the individual horse; slow if he jumps best that way, 
or fast if he is cleverer in this style. In any case be 
sure to collect him at the comers to prevent his sHp- 
ping; never send him at his jump at an angle, leading 
on his wrong foot, or cross-cantering. As most rings 
are right-handed, the horse should approach the jump 
leading on his off foot. This is particularly important 
in a lady's horse, for if he is leading on the near, in- 
stead of the off foot, and should happen to hit the jump 
and fall, he is more apt to fall on the near side and 
crush the rider. For this reason I believe that even on 
a straightaway course a woman's hunter should always 
be taught to go down at his jumps leading on the off 
foot. 

If your mount is very hot-headed he may have to be 
stopped after each jump and restrained up to a certain 
point before being allowed to go down to it. This 
sort of manoeuvring will undoubtedly count against 
him in hunter classes, but it will not tell as much 
against him as would the poor performance that he 
would be apt to make if allowed to sail down at the 
jumps at too rapid a pace. 

If your horse is a refuser, keep a sharp lookout for 
this trick at the first jump, as this is the one he is most 
likely to take advantage of. If he stops, turn him 
round shortly and send him at it as vigorously as pre- 
vious schooling has shown necessary. You will be 



SHOWING HUNTERS AND JUMPERS 191 

allowed three trials at each jump, after which you 
must make your exit, but in case this happens, don't 
lose your temper and whip your horse as he leaves 
the ring; it does no good and only lowers you in the 
estimation of the pubhc. 

If your horse is inclined to swerve at his jumps, 
always endeavor to point him at the side of the jump 
toward which he swerves and oblige him to jump in 
the corner as near the wing as possible. In this way 
he will have so little room to swerve that it will be 
scarcely perceptible. The same thing applies to a 
horse that runs out, in which case it is wisest not to 
allow him to get under way too far from his jumps. 
If possible let him see the tip end of your stick out of 
the corner of his eye on the side at which he likes to 
run out. 

When riding jumpers in pairs, decide with your 
partner, before you enter the ring, which one of you is 
to be pace-maker. Usually the slower horse of the two 
performs this function, but if a man and a woman 
are riding together, the former is supposed to gauge 
his pace by the latter. If the horses become separated 
during the jumping, slow up and get together again 
before the next jump; if your partner's animal refuses, 
go ahead over the jump yourself and then stop, un- 
less the refusal has taken place at the first jump of 
an in-and-out, in which case go on over the second jump 
before stopping, thus giving your partner's mount a 
lead. A woman, if riding with a man, should place 
her horse on the near side, unless he is apt to swerve 
to the right, in which case she should place him on 
the off side, for swerving horses should always be so 
paired that they will not cross each other and cause 
an accident. As a general rule, a horse that swerves 
badly is not very safe for pair jumping. 



192 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

After completing the course, see that your horse is 
kept moving to prevent his catching cold. If he is 
to show in many classes, dismount and rest him as 
much as possible, and if there is sufficient time before 
you expect to be called back into the ring, loosen his 
girth and balance strap. Under no circumstance allow 
your groom to let him remain motionless, for he will 
get cold and stiff, and if required to ''jump ofif" will 
not be able to do his best. 

If your horse is called in to be judged on conforma- 
tion, remove not only the saddle but also the breast- 
plate or martingale (do not merely knot the latter up, 
as it is not an adornment). Lead your horse into the 
ring yourself and see that he is standing squarely on 
all four feet and is alert and wide-awake when the 
judges are looking at him, but do not allow your groom 
to ''ginger" him, unless you know that it will not 
upset his temper, and do not under any circumstances 
"spread" him when standing. 

If you have made a fairly good performance and 
your number is nevertheless not called, do not make 
the mistake of being too hasty in sending your horse 
home to his stable. I have seen mistakes occur and 
a horse called for who had already been sent away 
from the show grounds. 

If you are unfortunate enough to make a bad per- 
formance, many well-meaning friends will undoubtedly 
deluge you with advice as to how you should have 
riddel your horse in order to win: you went too slow 
or too fast, and so on and so forth. My advice is not 
to pay any attention to them; it is very easy to ride 
a horse from the ground and very difficult to get up 
and do the trick, and the only advice worth listening 
to is that from some thoroughly experienced horse- 



SHOWING HUNTERS AND JUMPERS 193 

man who knows the horse you rode and has seen both 
you and your animal when schooHng. 

As in the case of showing saddle horses, try to be a 
graceful winner and a cheerful loser. Don't '^ protest" 
other winners unless there is such a flagrant breach of 
rules as to be positively harmful to exhibitors in gen- 
eral. The ribbon won under protest carries with it 
but little glory. I have shown for many years, and 
although there have been many times when I might 
have entered a protest, I am glad to say that up to 
date I am quite guiltless of such an act. If one hears 
of an unregistered horse being entered in a thorough- 
bred class, of a ribbon winner appearing in a novice 
class, or a horse who never to your positive knowledge 
has had a day with hounds being sneaked into a "quali- 
fied hunter '^ class, the time to enter your protest is 
before not after the class has been judged. Do not 
wait until the horse has beaten you and then kick up 
a row, but go to the committee before and make your 
complaint in a sportsmanlike manner; for by so doing 
you will be protecting not only yourself but all the 
other exhibitors. 

On the whole, however, if you hope to be popular 
in the show ring, you could not do better than to fol- 
low the example of: 

'^The wise old owl who sat in an oak, 
The more he saw the less he spoke, 
The less he spoke, the more he heard, 
Why can't we be like that wise old bird." 



CHAPTER XIII 
SUGGESTIONS TO HORSE-SHOW MANAGEMENTS 

From an exhibitor^s point of view many of the fol- 
lowing suggestions and innovations at horse shows 
might be welcome. 

In saddle classes judges should more often ride en- 
tries so as to test their gaits and mouths. In this way 
a horse that 'Ogives a good ride'' will not be turned 
down for the more showy animal, whose rider con- 
fidentially whispers after the class: "He nearly broke 
my back at a trot." 

I have recently seen a suggestion (written undoubt- 
edly by some onlooker) that exhibitors be compelled 
to forfeit all their prize moneys if they scratch in any 
classes. Such an arrangement would only be fair if 
the 'Hime-card'' were printed at the same time as 
the prize list, so that exhibitors in making their en- 
tries, would know just how many classes per day to 
enter in, and not find out at the last moment that all 
the classes the horse is entered in come on the same 
day and that the horse will be obliged to tire himself 
out just prior to showing in some important challenge 
cup. Time-cards cannot, however, in the nature of 
things, be printed until all the entries have come in, 
and therefore any such suggestion as the above is likely 
to meet with disapproval and quite rightly so. 

I agree that it is exceedingly unsportsmanlike to 
scratch one's horses every time one gets into a ^^huff " 
at the judging, but there are, nevertheless, circum- 
stances and cases in which, in justice to the horse, 

194 



HORSE-SHOW MANAGEMENTS 195 

he should be scratched, and the fine imposed by the 
association for so doing is quite sufficient punishment 
to prevent promiscuous and unnecessary scratching. 

In regard to jumping and hunting classes, I would 
suggest that all shows follow the example of the Na- 
tional. Have the secretary of the show correct wrong 
entries on receiving them and not leave it to the ex- 
hibitors to file complaints against horses entered both 
in light and heavy weight classes, etc. 

I am sorry to say that more than one prominent 
exhibitor is guilty of ^'swapping'' horses from middle- 
weight to hghtweight classes to suit his convenience. 
Such errors can readily be checked up by the Official 
Horse Show Blue Book, and unless the judges them- 
selves are responsible for the change, offenders should 
be heavily fined or suspended from showing for a 
definite period by the National Association of Horse 
Shows. 

In thoroughbred classes, shows should demand that 
the horse's ^^certificate of registration*' accompany 
the entry. Unfortunately some secretaries seem un- 
able to distinguish between the certificate of a regis- 
tered thoroughbred and the certificate of the American 
Saddle Horse Association, denoting a pure-bred Ken- 
tucky animal. The trouble is that the word "thor- 
oughbred" is too loosely applied. 

The ring committee for the jumping classes should 
be selected not for their social standing or their wealth, 
but for their knowledge of horsemanship, and this 
conamittee should undertake to see that the jumps 
are carefully and correctly put up and at the same 
height for each contestant. At most shows this is left 
to ignorant ring hands; the bars are placed crookedly 
and the wings in impossible positions. Fortunately, 



196 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

we occasionally have judges who look after these things, 
or the exhibitors rise in a body and take the matter in 
their own hands, but it is rightly the duty of the com- 
mittee and should not be shirked by them. 

I would also meekly suggest that if horse-show com- 
mittees wish to please both spectators and exhibitors, 
they put the jumping and hunting classes at more 
advantageous times on the programme, instead of rele- 
gating them either to the opening class of the show, to 
meal-hours, or to the very end, when the riders are tired 
and most of the spectators have gone home. At some 
shows the jumpers perform for an empty house, and 
when the last class comes, even the exhibitors and the 
judges themselves are yawning and wishing the thing 
over. There is always so much chat about it being diffi- 
cult to have the jumps carried in and out and set up in 
the middle of a session, but there is no reason why time 
should not be allowed on the programme for this, in 
order that the general pubHc, who like to see the jump- 
ing, may have an occasional view of it. If, as it is often 
argued, these classes are put early and late on purpose 
to draw the crowd and keep them longer, then all I 
have to say is that if the saddle classes can't hold the 
audience on their own merits, let them do without an 
audience; there is certainly no reason why the jump- 
ing horse should always be the goat. 

Another suggestion is regarding the wording of the 
hunter championship class. As it now stands, either 
the winners jump against each other, in which case 
an element of luck enters in (since even the most 
consistent performer of the show might possibly 
make a mistake in this one class), or else the horses 
are not required to jump and the class becomes a 
*^ model" class, pure and simple, and the handsomest 



HORSE-SHOW MANAGEMENTS 197 

and not the best hunter and jumper at the show 
wins the class. This is most certainly not as it 
should be if the word championship is to have any 
real meaning. A class for ^' model" hunters is an 
excellent thing and should be included in every show 
as well as a prize for the most consistent jumper, but 
it should not be confused with the championship. It 
is grossly unfair that horses who have gained their 
eligibility to the championship by some fluke, such 
as perhaps winning a blue or red in a class of only one 
or two entries, should be able to walk into the cham- 
pionship class and carry off the ribbon on conforma- 
tion alone, beating those horses who have won the 
most ribbons throughout the show. In the year of 
1918 at the National Show there was just such a case; 
a handsome thoroughbred horse, who had gone very 
badly throughout the week, managed to spruce up 
and win one class, thereby gaining eligibility to the 
championship; he entered this, and being judged on 
conformation and quality alone, past performances 
not being taken into account, he calmly walked off 
with the ribbon; a win he in no possible way deserved. 
This sort of thing makes the word championship ab- 
solutely meaningless. 

In a championship class a horse should be judged 
on his conformation plus his record throughout the 
week of the entire show, and the ribbon awarded to 
the best made and most consistent hunter of the show."^ 

There is, however, a still further improvement in 
the wording of championship classes, which I might 

* This plan nmstmot be confused with the one in vogue at the Devon 
horse show where each ribbon that a horse wins counts so much toward 
a final prize. This scheme is excellent in its way, but does not exactly 
fill the need of a championship, inasmuch as in the Devon way the 
conformation of a horse has naturally been counted each time that he 



198 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

suggest and which would apply not only to hunters but 
to saddle horses, ponies, harness horses, and all classes 
as well. Throughout *ll horse shows a system of cham- 
pionships might be adopted similar to the plan used 
by the American Kennel Club. In other words, change 
the name of the present championship class to '^ win- 
ners,'^ judge it, in so far as the hunters, as just suggested, 
then make each win in a '^ winners" class count a cer- 
tain number of points toward a championship. The 
exact number of points that it is to count being de- 
termined by the size of the show and the rating that 
it has under the association rules. A championship 
would thus be achieved after a certain number of wins 
in ^^ winners" classes. In order to adopt this plan, 
shows should be graded according to the number of 
entries and a fixed rating given each show; thus a 
prize in a winners class at the National might count, 
say, five points toward a championship, while a prize 
in a winners class at a small show, like IsHp, for ex- 
ample, would only count one point. The wording of 
Section G of the American Kennel Club, "re champion- 
ships," which is as follows, might easily be rewritten to 
suit horse championships: 

"Winners of fifteen points in the winners class under 
three different judges (at least six points of which shall 
be won at two different three-point shows) shall here- 
after become champions of record, and if registered 
in the stud-book shall be entitled to a championship 



won a ribbon, and therefore in the final award has really been counted 
over and over again instead of just once. 

At Olympia even in saddle classes every horse is obliged in the 
championship class to carry, somewhere on his bridle, all the ribbons he 
has won during the week. This is an excellent scheme to enable the 
public as well as the judges to see exactly in what relation the animal 
stands to all the others. 



HORSE-SHOW MANAGEMENTS 199 

certificate, and on payment of three dollars will re- 
ceive a championship medal. '^ 

Now that all horse shows of any account are under 
the control of a central body like the Association of 
American Horse Shows, this plan could be adopted 
quite easily with but few changes in our present 
programme. Then and then only would the word 
" champion '^ affixed to the name of a show horse mean 
as much as it does when seen attached to that of a 
show dog. 



CHAPTER XIV 

SHOWING ABROAD 

**If once we efface the joys of the chase 
From the land and ou.troot the stud; 
Good-bye to the Anglo-Saxon race, 
Farewell to the Norman blood." 

— GOKDON. 

For the benefit of those exhibitors who have won 
over here and have become enthusiastic enough to 
wish to embark upon foreign shows, as wbU as for the 
benefit of those persons expecting to import Enghsh 
or Irish show horses, a few words as to how shows are 
conducted over there may not come amiss. 

To begin with, don't be carried away with the idea 
that because your saddle horse has won at Madison 
Square Garden, he is therefore capable of winning at 
Olympia or at Royal Richmond. If he isn't a thor- 
oughbred — or very nearly so — ^if he at all resembles a 
Kentucky horse — or is a wee bit peacocky and har- 
nessy, even though he may have won at every show in 
the whole of the United States, over there he will get 
nothing better than the gate. The judges, as well as 
the audience, will merely smile at the sight of him, and 
mildly wonder where you left the carriage and harness 
that belong to him.* 

Presuming that your horse is a thoroughbred, re- 
member that you will have to compete against three 
or four times the number of horses that you meet over 

* There are, of course, classes for cobs and weight-carrying horses. 
Cobs are chunky Uttle horses of more or less harnessy type, but totally 
different from our Kentucky or trotting type of saddler. They are 
intended rather for the use of a fat gentleman than for show purposes. 

200 



SHOWING ABROAD 201 

here. I have ridden in saddle classes at Olympia, at 
which there were seventy entries, and in championship 
classes in which twenty-five were eligible for competi- 
tion. There is a *^ preliminary" judging which takes 
place in the morning, after which weeding out there 
still remain usually as many as twenty-odd horses to 
com5)ete against each other in the afternoon or evening. 

As the thoroughbred is the accepted type of saddle 
horse in England, the canter is the gait most in favor 
and most critically judged. The horses enter at a 
walk, which is followed by a very short trot and then 
an interminable canter, at which gait most of the horses 
excel and are the poetry of motion. 

After the canter is over, each rider is given a few 
moments in which he is supposed to show his mount 
off as he sees fit, choosing whatever gait at which he 
thinks the horse goes best. During this period the 
ring usually looks like an animated polo field, for the 
riders take pride in showing how handy their mounts 
are; changing leads, stopping short, etc., and going 
through all the feats that would be acceptable in a 
rough-and-ready hack for the country. The first year 
I rode at Olympia I was mounted on a gray thorough- 
bred of Mr. Walter Winan^s, called 'Tairyhill," who 
had a superb trot; so during this sort of '^ catch as 
catch can" period, I endeavored to show him off at 
what I considered his best gait, namely the trot. I 
won the class, but after it was all over, Mr. Gooch 
gently and smilingly advised me, next time, not to 
trot so much as the judges didn^t care so much about 
that. Personally this advice rather delighted me, as 
the canter was my favorite gait. 

When the horses are fined up for inspection, the 
judges pick out the best dozen, or so, and ride them to 



202 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

test their gaits and mouths. As I have already stated 
elsewhere, English show horses are, as a general rule, 
far better broken than those found in American rings, 
nevertheless, inasmuch as nearly all English show 
horses are thoroughbreds, the term *' manners" is some- 
what differently interpreted than with us. A horse is 
expected to have a far more complete '^school" educa- 
tion, he must canter at a slow collected pace with 
loose rein and arched neck, must change leads and 
back, etc., and yet he is more often pardoned for a 
little "playing up," or kicking, than with us, unac- 
customed as we are to the thoroughbred saddle horse. 

In a jiunping class at Olympia there are often as many 
as 270 horses, and one class sometimes takes several 
days to judge. The jumps are mostly local jumps, as 
well as trick and fancy jumps; triple bars, double oxers, 
railway gates, etc., which would require quite some 
schooling over before an American horse could nego- 
tiate them. They make the great mistake at Olympia, 
as well as at the Ballsbridge show in Dubhn, of hav- 
ing no classes for hunters to jump. Their hunters 
are not requested to jump and are judged purely on 
conformation and type, and their jumpers are awarded 
ribbons solely on their performance. It is well to bear 
this fact in mind when buying a foreign horse. The 
fact that he has won a first prize in a hunter class at 
Olympia, or Ballsbridge, does not necessarily mean 
that he has ever jumped a stick in his Hfe. In addition 
to the regular hunter and jumping classes at Olympia, 
there are also most charming classes for children's 
hunters, most of them clean-bred or well-bred animals, 
ranging about 15 hands in height. 

At the Ballsbridge Horse Show in DubUn, which 
lasts two weeks, and is the most famous hunter show 




Ballsbridge Horse Show, Dublin, 1913. 
The stone wall in the foreground is five feet eight inches in height. 







'i~..:*jy^- 



iSg.-rt%^^ 



' "•-#'!^:: r ■■ ■ 






Olympia, London, 1913. 



SHOWING ABROAD 203 

in the world, there are besides other breeding classes, 
etc., three different rings going at once for hunters 
alone. In these are judged, separately, the light- 
weight, middleweight, and heavyweight hunters, and 
the horses are simply ridden around the enclosure at a 
walk, trot, and canter.* The jumping (in which per- 
formance alone counts) takes place, simultaneously 
with the other classes, over a course in front of a huge 
grand stand. The course consists of great banks and 
drains and a wall five feet two inches high. No horses 
unaccustomed to Irish jumps could possibly expect to 
compete, but, for that matter, no one would be likely 
to take hunters to Ireland — it would be like '* carrying 
coals to Newcastle." There are usually so many 
jumpers competing in these classes that they are paired 
off; the best one of each pair again being required to 
jump it off in company with another horse and so on 
up to the finals, just like a tennis tournament. 

* At Ballsbridge the first prize is a red ribbon, and the second a blue. 



CHAPTER XV 

SADDLES, BRIDLES, AND OTHER TACK 

*' There's naught a triifle, 
Though small it appear. 
Small sands make the mountains, 
Minutes make the year, 
And trifles Life." 

— Young. 

Two things are of utmost importance in a saddle: 
first, that it fits the horse to a nicety, and second, 
that it fits the rider. As the range of difference be- 
tween various side-saddles is far greater than that ex- 
isting between any two cross-saddles, the exact make, 
shape, and size of a saddle is of even more impor- 
tance to a woman than it is to a man. This is a point 
that is too little appreciated by the average man, when 
he asks a woman to ride a horse in a saddle so totally 
different from anything that she has ever been in that 
she cannot help but feel strange in it. I personally 
feel more at home on a strange horse in my own saddle, 
than I do on my own horse in a strange saddle. 

In a small stable, one side-saddle,* if well made and 
large and roomy as to tree, may, by the help of numnahs 
and pommel pads, be made to fit many horses, but 
whenever it is possible, it is a far better plan to have 

* The side-saddle consists of (1) the tree or wooden frame, (2) the 
panel or cushion to render it soft against the animal's back, (3) the 
leather covering of the seat, etc., (4) the leaping head and crutch, (5) 
the stirrup leather, called "leather" for short, (6) the stirrup "iron," 
(7) the girths, (8) the balance strap. 

The tree consists of two wooden bars held together in front by the 
steel gullet-plate, and in the rear by the cantle. Over the open space 
in the tree are stretched strong hempen webs. The "points" of the 
tree are attached to the gullet-plate and extend down into the pockets 
of the covered saddle. 

204 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 205 

different saddles, each especially fitted to the horse 
on whom it is most used. 

In order to keep the saddle from shifting about and 
giving the horse a sore back, and in order that the rider* s 
weight may be so evenly distributed that no pressure 
will fall on the animaFs back-bone, the bars of the tree 
must fit absolutely accurately — thus bringing aU the 
rider^s weight to bear on those muscles which run ad- 
jacent to the back-bone. The two bars should never 
be less than four inches apart. At the same time a 
fair amount of space must be left between the gullet- 
plate and the animaFs withers. This last may satis- 
factorily be accompHshed, without giving undue height 
to the fore part of the saddle, by having it well '*cut 
back" in front. The gullet-plate should, in a well- 
made saddle, be of sufficient strength to bear the rider's 
weight without changing its shape and bearing down 
on the animaFs withers. 

Before the rider's weight is in the saddle there should 
be about two inches between the withersand the gullet- 
plate. But the only proper v/ay to determine if a sad- 
dle fits well at this point is to run ,the fingers into this 
space after mounting. Unless two or three fingers, one 
on top of the other, can easily be inserted, a pommel pad 
or numnah should temporarily be used and the saddle 
altered at the earliest possible moment. Any rubbing 
which might occur on the horse's withers will be very 
hard to cure, owing to the fact that there is but little 
flesh over the bone, at that point, to insure healing. 

The points of the tree* are usually made of different 
lengths. The near point must be long, so as to help 

* It is of interest to note that the trade of "tree" making is quite 
distinct and separate from that of the saddlers. There is, for example, 
only one tree maker in the city of New York, to whom, in fact, even 



206 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

keep the saddle in place, but the off point must be 
comparatively short, so that in the event of the animal 
turning sharply and abruptly in a narrow place the tree 
will not spread. If the points of a saddle have origi- 
nally been fitted to a deep-girthed horse, the stuflSng 
and panels on the inside of the tree will be dragged 
away from the points, if used on a Ughter-girthed 
animal. This is naturally due to the fact that, as the 
points are stiff, they cannot adapt themselves to the 
animals sides in the same way that the stuffing does. 

The upper crutch, or '^pommel,^^* as it is often called, 
should not be placed way up on the horse's withers, 
but far enough down to enable the rider to press the 
lower part of her right leg firmly and flatly against 
the animaFs shoulder. On the other hand, the crutch 
must not be placed so jar down that the rider's right 
thigh will be off the fine that is parallel with the horse's 
back-bone. The upper crutch should be about six and 
one-half inches in height, depending to a certain extent 
on the size of the rider's leg. (See Figs. 1 and 2, page 
89.) If too long, the crutch will poke the skirt up in 
an ugly fashion, and if too short, it will not afford 
sufficient grip for the right leg. In a saddle intended 
only for show purposes, the crutch may, for neatness' 
sake, be made shorter than in one intended for real 
work. 

The leaping head (invented about 1830 by a French- 
man, M. Pellier) enables the rider to use her left leg 

people in the West are obliged to send. This accounts for the intermi- 
nable delays that one is obliged to undergo when having repairs made 
to a saddle-tree. 

* This upper crutch is often technically spoken of as the "near" 
head, so called because before the advent of the leaping head aU side- 
saddles had an "off " crutch in the shape of a sort of handle, which the 
rider might either grasp with her right hand or else which she might 
use by wedging her right leg between it and the "near" crutch. 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 207 

in maintaining a firm seat. The angle, the curve, and 
the exact position of this leaping head is of utmost im- 
portance. 

The angle should be such that the bearing surface 
which it presents to the leg is parallel to the direction 
of the upper portion of the leg, when in position. (See 
Figs. 1 and 2, page 89.) 

The curve should be so arranged, that the leaping 
head will catch the rider's leg about four or five inches 
above the knee, but at the same time enable the leg 
to get fully under it. This permits the rider, when 
pressing against it, also to press the flat of the knee 
against the flap of the saddle. If the leaping head is 
too short, or not sufficiently curved, or arranged at 
an improper angle, the rider will find in pressing against 
it that the tip end of the leaping head will poke into 
her leg instead of half encircling it, as it should. More- 
over, in such cases, the more she presses against it, the 
farther will her leg be carried outward and away from 
the saddle, weakening her hold and bringing her weight 
too much to the near side. 

As a rule, most side-saddles have two holes into which 
the leaping head may be screwed, as desired. I have 
yet to see, however, the need of the lower hole. When 
the leaping head is used in this hole, it is so far away 
from the upper crutch that the rider is unable to ob- 
tain any purchase. (Of course the opposite extreme, 
in which the ^^poromels" are too near together, is also 
prejudicial against a firm seat.) The exact distance 
between the two pommels is best determined by the 
individual rider; a short-legged woman requiring pom- 
mels nearer together, in order to get a good grip, than 
a long-legged woman. 

Inasmuch as the lower screw hole for the leaping 



208 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

head is quite an unnecessary adjunct, it would, I think, 
be a great improvement were the leaping head riveted 
instead of screwed onto the saddle. Screws have a 
nasty way of becoming worn in the thread, causing 
the leaping head to wabble and even to spin around 
just when most needed. 

The width of the leaping head and upper crutch is 
also of utmost importance. For hacking or for show- 
ing saddle horses on which the trot is often indulged 
in, narrow "pommels" will be found to be far and 
away the best. They feel less clumsy than the broad 
pommels and enable the rider^s left leg, when rising 
to a trot, to clear the leaping head with far greater 
ease. Rising to a trot is consequently executed with 
more grace in a narrow-pommelled saddle than in a 
broad-pommelled one. 

On the other hand, for jumping, for hunting, or for 
riding green horses, the wide pommels are preferable, as 
they give a much firmer grip. Also for riding long dis- 
tance their broad surface is less tiring than the narrow 
surface, and, owing to their thickness, the rider need 
not shorten up her leather as much to obtain a good 
grip as she would be obliged to do with narrow pom- 
mels. 

The panel of the side-saddle should be evenly and 
smoothly stuffed in two cushions on each side of the 
horse's back, leaving an air space about three and 
one-half inches wide along the animal's back-bone. 
Although the saddle must not be so overstuffed that 
it will shift its position, an evenly marked division 
should always exist between the two cushions. This 
is particularly essential on a horse with a prominent 
back-bone, who is most likely to get rubbed along this 
line. 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 209 

The stujSing under the cantle of the saddle must 
never be allowed to get flat, and should be carefully- 
watched for any signs of settling down. The stuffing 
of the entire panel should be of t^urled horsehair or 
of fine wool, free from lumps (called best flock). It 
should never be composed of an inferior flock, which 
consists mostly of cotton waste that forms lumps, 
causing the saddle to shift about and giving the animal 
a sore back. For this reason it is as necessary to go 
to a first-class saddler for alterations in the stufl&ng 
as it would be were one ordering a new saddle. 

If the near rear side of the saddle starts to sag, do 
not let the saddler make the mistake of adding more 
stuffing at this point. Sagging to the near side can be 
far more effectively remedied by putting some addi- 
tional stuffing on the off side, a Httle to the fronty be- 
yond the waist of the saddle. 

The panel of all saddles should preferably be lined 
with leather, which will be cool and soft to the horse's 
back, and will last almost as long as the saddle itself, 
providing that it is well taken care of. Next to leather 
in preference, and more popular among grooms, owing 
to the fact that it needs less care, is a good quality of 
Hnen called ^' Brown Holland." Serge linings permit 
of alterations being made in the stuffing by means of 
sHts or by the insertion of a seat awl, but in spite of 
this advantage, they are not practical, as they ab- 
sorb sweat and soon become dirty and prickly.* 

The covering of a first-class saddle should be of 
genuine well-seasoned pigskin. Owing to the com- 

* No matter of what material the hning may be, it should always 
be well sponged off after it is brought in, and if of leather, rubbed with 
a little plain yellow soap. Soft soap renders the leather pliable at 
first, but afterward it becomes hard and full of cracks. 



210 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

parative delicacy of this leather the flaps of the saddle 
are made of a single thickness of calf or cow skin, 
stamped to imitate pigskin. The genuine article may 
be told from the imitation by the presence of the "bris- 
tle holes." In some saddles the seat and the "pom- 
mels" are covered with buckskin or doeskin, as this 
supposedly gives a firmer grip to the rider. Although 
there is no objection to some sort of dark-colored rough 
leather being used for this purpose on the "pommels," 
it gives the saddle an unworkmanlike and amateurish 
appearance when used on the seat. 

The near flap should be perfectly flat and without 
any stuflSng or padding, while the little extra flap that 
covers the safety bar should be sufficiently small so 
as not to catch in the top of the rider's boot. The off 
flap should be absolutely plain and unadorned by 
pocket or monogram. In some saddles, used expressly 
for showing hacks, this flap is cut almost in half, al- 
lowing the girth tugs to show. This is an ugly and 
ridiculous] fashion and not nearly as smart or sensible 
as a flap, which is cut quite narrow, so as to show as 
much of the horse's forehand as possible. 

The first saddle of this description was made by 
Bach for Miss Hopeton D. Atterbury (Mrs. Wm. 
Quaid), and was used with great success.* Even at 
best, however, such a small saddle, although extremely 
smart for showing hacks, is not practical for more 
general use, and is quite impossible to use as a hunt- 
ing saddle. Therefore, unless a woman possesses more 

* Great care must be taken that these saddles are not made so small 
as to render them a useless toy. Leaving ofif the balance strap is apt 
to destroy the balance of the saddle and render it useless except for a 
few moments in the show ring. In order to obviate this difficulty the 
saddler, Knoud, makes these small saddles so that they can be used 
either with or without a balance strap. 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 211 

than one, a larger and more roomy saddle is the wiser 
choice. 

The seat of a saddle should be large enough to ex- 
fend a few inches behind the rider, for if shorter than 
this, much of her weight will fall on the cantle and 
be likely to give the horse a sore back. The abso- 
lutely level seat, so fashionable among saddlers, is 
useful for show purposes only. For security in jump- 
ing or hunting, there must be a sHght dip which, al- 
though scarcely perceptible to the eye, is sufficient to 
conform to the rider's anatomy. In all cases the seat 
should be ^' eased off'* a trifle on the near side, just 
behind the leaping head, in order to enable the rider 
to get as close to the horse as possible. Close to the 
cantle, the near side should be made a Httle higher 
than the off side, so that any tendency of the rider to 
slide down on this side may be counteracted. When 
standing on the ground on the near side of the horse, 
the off side of the saddle should be concealed from 
view by the near side. 

The stirrup leather should be attached to a safety 
bar, and under no circumstances should it be fastened 
to the balance strap, as in old-fashioned saddles, nor 
should the leather be a fixture to the saddle, as in some 
men's racing saddles. 

The proper kind of safety bar releases the leather 
if the rider is thrown with her foot caught in the iron, 
no matter whether she falls from the off or the near 
side of the horse; but it should not come undone too 
readily should the rider happen to draw her foot back 
sharply when in the saddle. If both these require- 
ments cannot be fulfilled by the same bar, then the 
first must be chosen rather than the second, for on the 
surety with which the safety bar releases the leather 



212 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

depends the safety of the rider. Even if the leather 
does occasionally come out when it is not supposed 
to, it is not likely to cause a woman who rides in a 
correct way any serious inconvenience.* 

The leather in itseh should be soft and pliable and 
very strong. The arrangement for altering the length 
of the leather should consist of a hook (covered with a 
leather guard) instead of a buckle. In order that the 
rider, when mounted, may be able to alter the length 
of the leather without unduly raising her skirt, the 
hook should be fairly near the iron and not in close 
proximity to the safety bar as in a man's saddle. By 
having the hook low down, there is also less danger of 
its hurting the rider's leg. 

The stirrup-iron should be of steel, the same as a 
man's iron. It should be small enough to prevent the 
foot from slipping entirely through it, but large enough 
not to squeeze the foot. The sole, or tread, of the iron 
should be about two and one-half inches wide, as this 
width is less apt to tire the rider's foot than a narrower 
one. A roughened tread gives a firmer grip than a 
smooth one, but rubber pads should not be used, except- 
ing for children or for the very aged. The iron should 
not be too light, for a light iron is more likely to become 
jammed on the foot in case of an accident, moreover, if 
lost off the foot while riding, a Hght iron is harder to 
regain than a heavier one, as the latter does not swing 
about so much. 

* Bars, working on the principle of those used in Whippey, Mayhew, 
or Martin saddles, are very satisfactory. The bar on many Champion 
Wilton saddles cannot come out as long as the rider is in the saddle, 
which is an advantage; but, on the other hand, were she thrown with- 
out dragging the leather with her, and were the horse to gallop on alone 
the leather immediately flies off. To obviate this difficulty these sad- 
dles are provided with an extra iron in a case. This convenience 
might well be used in connection with any hunting saddle. 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 213 

If a proper safety bar is used there is absolutely no 
need for the use of such an ungainly looking thing as 
a ''safety stirrup/' and in any case it never should be 
used except in conjunction with the safety bar. By 
itself it is quite unreHable.* 

The ''furniture" of a side-saddle consists of the 
girth "tugs" or straps, two metal "D's" on the off 
rear of the saddle under the cantle (to which is at- 
tached, when needed, the hunting-case), and two "D's" 
on front of the saddle on each [side of the withers, 
through which the straps of the breastplate may be 
passed. 

Girths should be soft, pliable, and fairly broad, for 
although narrow girths make a horse sweat less than 
broad ones, they are more apt to chafe him. Leather 
girths, if well oiled and properly cared for, are the best, 
as they fulfil the above requirements and are the neat- 
est in appearance. White or brown webbing girths 
are, however, more practical in a stable, in which the 
help is inexperienced. Girths made of narrow parallel 
strips of leather, rawhide, or cord, are admittedly cooler 
than any other kind, they also take a good strong grip 
without necessitating tight girthing; but as it is almost 
impossible to distribute the pressure evenly with such 
girths, they are apt to wrinkle the horse's skin and 
gall him. Woollen or serge girths are heating to the 
horse and should, of course, never be used. 

* Many safety stirrups open both ways, in which case the rider's 
foot can slip through and be hung up just as in an ordinary iron. If, 
to obviate this, the iron opens only one way there is considerable danger 
of its being put with the wrong side toward the* heel, through ignorance 
or carelessness. If the rider is thrown from the off side of the saddle 
the average safety iron is not likely to work properly. Were the horse 
to fall on the rider the iron is prevented from working by being jammed. 
Then, again, if the ''outer" iron is too large in proportion to the rider's 
foot she may get hung up in it even after the "inner" iron has opened 
and released her foot. 



214 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

Aside from the material, the best style of girth to use 
is what is called a '^FitzWilliam" girth. It consists 
of a broad under girth on top of which is passed, through 
narrow loops, a narrow upper girth. This last is very 
convenient for the use of a martingale, which can 
thereby be put on or removed without touching the 
under girth, or endangering the position of the saddle 
during the operation. By pressing on the centre of the 
broad girth, the narrow one has the advantage of keep- 
ing the edges of the former incHned outward, and thus 
preventing a horse from becoming girth-galled.* 

All girth buckles should be of the double ''bar" 
variety, and the girths on a side-saddle should always 
be fastened high up on the near side, so as not to make 
a bunch under the rider's leg. By this arrangement 
there is plenty of girth-strap length left on the ofif side, 
should the girths require tightening after the lady is 
mounted.f 

The purpose of the balance strap is to prevent any 
undue motion of the saddle, and to counteract any 
excess of weight which might fall on the near side. Al- 
though, as we have already stated, small show saddles 
are sometimes made without a balance strap, it is not 
wise to attempt any extended riding without one. 

NumnahsJ are of great assistance in making a sad- 
dle fit a varying number of horses. In fact, I have 
found that even with a saddle that has been espe- 
cially fitted to a particular animal, it is wiser always 

* In default of a girth of this kind, a substitute may be made by 
tying an old silk boot-lace around the girth to bend the edge outward. 
This is sometimes useful on young horses or those with very low fore- 
hands, on whom the saddle and girths are apt to slip forward and cause 
Bores behind the elbows. 

t Grooms should at once report any rips in girths or girth tugs, for 
on the security of these safety in the saddle depends. 

i So called from the Hindustani word for "felt." 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 215 

to use numnahs in hunting or on long rides. With 
their use, sore backs are almost an unknown thing. 

Numnahs are usually made of felt, and should be as 
thin as is consistent with their doing the double duty 
of soaking up sweat and of protecting the horse^s back. 
They should be sufficiently long to extend about two 
inches beyond all the bearing surfaces of the saddle, 
in order to prevent the edge of the cloth from pressing 
into the skin and rubbing it.* Care must be taken 
that the straps which fasten the numnah to the saddle 
are properly adjusted, so as to prevent the numnah 
from slipping about. 

Leather nunmahs (which do not absorb sweat), 
although smart-looking, are not as capable of pro- 
tecting the horse's back as felt ones, and, unless well 
taken care of, soon become hard and stiff. On the 
whole the thick white numnahs called Scriven's Patent 
Wilson numnahs are perhaps the best, for they do not 
shrink as do ordinary ones.f 

Sheepskins are much used in South America, in 
Mexico, and in the West, and are placed with the woolly 
side next to the animaFs back. Although a bit untidy- 
looking, unless very closely fitted to the saddle, they 
are excellent for use on horses with excessively tender 
skins.f 

Knitted pommel pads are useful in helping to make 
a saddle fit without rubbing a horse's withers. 

When out hunting, an oblong leather case, contain- 

* For this same reason it is usually inadvisable to cut holes in a 
numnah in order, for example, to take the weight off a sore spot. As 
a rule, in such cases the edge of the hole presses into the horse's skin 
and makes bad matters worse. 

t A white numnah should always be used on a gray horse, for a col- 
ored one looks untidy and stains the animal's coat. 

X Numnahs hned with sponge are only satisfactory if great care is 
taken to keep them soft by constant dampening. 



216 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

ing a metal sandwich case and a glass flask, may be 
fastened to the saddle by means of the two '^D's" 
on the off rear side of the saddle. Other accessories 
such as a leather case containing a wire-cutter, a case 
with an extra stirrup-iron, are occasionally carried. If 
a woman is in a hunt team and acts as M. F. H., or 
Huntsman, she carries a horn case; if a Whip, she 
carries '^couples'' for the hounds. 

In attaching all cases, care must be taken to see 
that the straps, which fasten to the ^'D's", are of a 
proper length to prevent the cases flapping against 
the animaFs sides. 

Bridles are of an endless variety, but no matter of 
what kind, they should be of well-seasoned, well-pressed 
and pHable leather and preferably that dark shade of 
brown, acquired by time and much ''dressing.'' 

Each horse should have a bridle fitted to his especial 
use, or if the bridle has to be used on many different 
horses, the bit should always be raised or lowered as 
may be found necessary to suit each particular case. 
Attention to such details is one of the first things de- 
manded of a real horseman or horsewoman. 

The bit and headstall of a bridle should be sewn 
in; buckles bespeak the Hvery-stable. Where it is 
necessary to do much interchanging of bits, the French 
stud or clip may be used; although it is more apt to 
catch on the rings of a martingale than the sewn-in 
variety, nevertheless, it is smart-looking, and from the 
outside is ahnost indistinguishable from the sewn-in 
rein. 

The reins should neither be so thin that they double 
up in hand, nor yet so broad and stiff that they 
are clumsy. A good average is about seven-eighths 
of an inch in width, and thin enough to be pUable. 




Miss Sarah (1896). 
By Imp, the Jacobite out of Push. 




Dick Christian, a famous blood hunter. 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 217 

On a plain snaffle bridle the reins are usually a little 
broader than in a double bridle and may be ^' laced," 
in order to prevent their slipping should they get wet.* 

In a double bridle the bit (curb) reins are, some- 
times, a trifle narrower than the bridoon (snaffle) reins, 
in order to aid the rider to distinguish them. While 
in a double bridle that is to be used for hunting the 
bridoon reins may also be ''laced." To a person un- 
accustomed to ''laced" reins, they may at first seem 
rather clumsy, but once accustomed to them, one feels 
quite lost without them, even in dry weather. 

The hand-pieces of most bit reins are for some un- 
accountable reason nearly always sewn together, in- 
stead of being buckled together as they should be, 
to enable one to put the martingale on this rein. If 
a martingale is used it should always be put on the 
bit and not on the bridoon reins. A point which we 
will discuss later. 

The "front" or brow-band of a bridle should be of 
plain leather for hunters and of colored braided ribbon 
for hacks. Colored celluloid or colored leather should 
never be used. 

The nose-band may be either a narrow stitched 
strap, which is attached to the same headstall as the 
bits, or it may be a plain unstitched band on an entirely 
separate headstall. 

The former variety is purely ornamental and is suited 
for hacks; the latter, called a "Cavasson" nose-band, 
is the correct one to use on hunters. It may be raised 
or lowered by means of the cheek-pieces, so that pres- 



* "Lacing" is preferable to having leather strips sewn across the 
reins, or tapering the reins in such a way that they are narrower in 
front of the hand than behind. Red rubber hand-pieces, to prevent 
slipping, savor too much of the race-track. 



218 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

sure can be brought to bear on whatever portion of 
the horse's nose is desired. On a puller it may be 
tightened so as to prevent the horse from opening his 
mouth, or from catching the bit with his teeth and 
shifting it about. It is evident that the lower the nose- 
band is placed the more effective it will be in closing 
the jaw.* The useful purposes of the nose-band are 
too little understood by people who seem to think 
that it exists simply for looks. 

The throat-latch of a bridle should neither be so 
loose as to look untidy nor so tight that it exerts pres- 
sure on the horse's windpipe. In order to present a 
tidy appearance, all the strap ends on a bridle should 
always be carefully placed in their ^'keepers." 

No matter what style of bit is used, it should be 
accurately fitted to the horse's mouth, and should 
neither be so narrow as to pinch the lips nor so wide 
as to permit of the animal catching hold of it and bor- 
ing on one side in order to relieve the pressure on the 
other side of the jaw. 

Only the best hard-forged steel should be used for 
bits. Forged wrought-iron, annealed cast-iron, or 
plated and nickel bits, recommended because they 
will not rust, are not as strong as steel and often have 
flaws in them. Unless the purchaser has inside knowl- 
edge as to the exact meaning of the trade-marks on 
bits, which designate the material of which they are 
made, he should only purchase from a reliable firm 
whose word he can trust. 

Bits differ as much as the hands of the rider and his 
abihty to use them. In a large stable, where many 

* In extreme cases where a very tight nose-band is required, the rear 
portion of it may be covered with a bit of rubber tubing to prevent it 
hurting the edges of the lower jaw. 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 219 

horses are kept, a various assortment of bits and bridles 
may be needed to suit the different animals. The 
proper bit for any horse is that which gives the rider 
full control over the animal, and enables him to make 
the horse do exactly what is required of him, and yet 
accomplishes its purpose with least severity. "The 
reputation that some people have for good hands is 
often as much a good head in fitting and adjusting 
the bit, as in any special delicacy in handling it." 

The first thing to be remembered, however, is that 
unless the former owner of the horse has recommended 
some particular type of bit in which the animal goes 
well, on general principles the simplest bit should 
always be tried first. For a hunter a plain snaffle or 
a Weymouth double bridle; for a hack a Weymouth 
or a simple Pelham. It is not until one has tried all 
the simpler forms of bits, and has failed, that severe 
or complicated bits should ever be essayed, and even 
then only with great care. In nine cases out of ten a 
horse who would go like a lamb in a simple Weymouth, 
would act up in a high port. Dealers and grooms are 
apt to urge owners to collect a large and fancy assort- 
ment of bits simply to get the commission that they 
obtain through their purchase. 

Bits may roughly be divided into snaffles, curbs, 
and Pelhams. The simplest and least severe of these 
is the plain, ring snaffle, which is distinctly an undress 
bit, suited for exercising, and excellent for many 
hunters, especially for the inexperienced horseman, as 
with it he has little chance of interfering with the 
animaFs mouth. It may be true, that only one horse 
in a thousand goes well in a snaffle, but it is equally 
true that only one person in ten has good enough hands 
to use a double bridle properly. 



220 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

A snafHe, of course, is quite unfitted for riding or 
showing a hack, owing to the fact that it acts by direct 
pressure on the animal's mouth and gives no leverage 
by which a horse may be made to collect himself. 

There are many varieties of snaffles, but for all ordi- 
nary purposes for which a snaffle may be used, the 
plain straight bar snaffle, the slightly curved (half 
moon) , or the plain j ointed snaffle are the best. Twisted 
snaffles and chain snaffles, composed of links, are all 
very severe, and, as a general rule, do more harm than 
good and should never be used except by an experi- 
enced horseman.* This also appHes to the use of the 
gag, the object of which is to enable the rider, by means 
of pulleys, to raise the head of an animal who bores, 
or who charges his jumps with his head down. Should 
the gag be touched, however, at the wrong moment, 
it is Hkely to bring a horse down. In any case the 
French gag is the best one to use, as it accompUshes 
its object by means of a pull on the headstall, rather 
than by squeezing the horse's hps, thereby making 
them callous. 

Snaffles may be either leather-covered, to lessen their 
severity, or an entire leather snaffle may be made. 
If a metal bit is covered, it is preferable to do so with 

* The double-ring snaffle is the same as a single-ring snaffle, with 
the exception of an additional pair of rings of the same size, placed on 
the inside. To these inner rings the cheek-piece of the bridle is at- 
tached, and when used in the ordinary way the only effect it has is to 
permit of the full pull of the reins falling directly on the bars of the 
mouth. The more general use of the bit is to convert it into a New- 
market snaffle, by attaching a nose-band to the inner rings, in which 
case, pressure may be brought to bear entirely on the nose of the 
animal. It is often useful on a puller. Side lines, which are an at- 
tachment rather than a bit, give the rider great control over a mean 
horse, by means of pulleys on the saddle through which the rein passes, 
before going into the rider's hand. This arrangement, it goes with- 
out saying, should only be used by the experienced. 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 221 

a removable cover, such as the Hancock curl bit mouth 
cover, which curls automatically around the bit and 
can be removed, to permit of inspecting and cleaning 
the bit. This is much safer than having the bit per- 
manently covered, in which case the metal may be- 
come corroded and worn underneath without being 
noticed. 

In a double bridle the snaffle should always be spoken 
of as the bridoon. The bridoon may be either of the 
plain, half-moon, or jointed variety. It is much smaller 
and thinner than that used in a snaffle bridle, but in 
no case should it be so thin as to irritate the animaPs 
mouth. In fact, all bits should be fairly thick and 
round in order to avoid this. To be smart the rings 
of the bridoon should be flat. 

The different action which the bit of a double bridle 
has on the bars of the mouth depends largely on the 
shape of the mouthpiece; whether it is sliding or fixed, 
in the height and shape of the bend or '^port" in the 
centre of the mouthpiece, and on the length of the 
cheeks. SHding mouthpieces are, as a rule (particularly 
in the hands of an indifferent rider), better than station- 
ary mouthpieces, as with the former, any jerk from the 
rider^s hands is more or less taken up by the shding. 
The chief purpose of the port is to take the weight of 
the bit off the horse^s tongue (which is not very sensi- 
tive) and bring it all to bear on the more sensitive 
bars of the mouth. Under no circumstances should 
it be high enough to touch, let alone hurt, the roof of 
the horse^s mouth. A maximum height would be about 
one and two-thirds inches, and the port should be wide 
enough to enable the tongue to lie in it comfortably. 

The length of the upper portion of the cheek of the 
bit (measuring from the centre of the mouthpiece to the 



222 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

upper eye, into which the headstall passes) is usually 
about one and three-quarters to two inches. If shorter 
than this, it gives less lever action, and if longer there 
is more downward pull on the headstall, and the curb- 
chain, instead of lying in the chin groove, works up 
and presses on the sensitive bony portion of the horse's 
jaw. 

The lower portion of the cheek* averages about 
four to four and one-half inches in length, but it may 
be lengthened, to increase the severity of the bit, to five 
and one-quarter inches. That expert horseman, Mr. 
Thomas Hitchcock, hunts nearly all of his horses with 
extremely long cheeks. However, owing to its severity, 
this should never be attempted except by an experi- 
enced horseman. 

For horses with excessively light mouths, or those 
horses unaccustomed to a double bridle, a Tom Thumb 
bit is very efficient. The bridle is in all respects just 
like an ordinary Weymouth, but in miniature. 

All curb bits should be provided with a '^lip-strap," 
which is attached to the lip-strap eyelets on the curb, 
and passes through the pendant ring on the curb-chain. 
The purpose of this strap is threefold: to prevent the 
bit being reversed upside down by the animal throw- 
ing its head; to keep the curb-chain from shifting 
upward out of the chin groove and pressing on the 
sharp edges of the jaw; and to make it impossible 
for a tricky horse to catch the bit with his lower lip. 

Curb-chains, which serve the purpose of bringing 
part of the pressure exerted on the reins, to bear on the 
groove in the lower chin, are necessary on all double 

* The loose rings at the bottom of the cheek should be made suffi- 
ciently large to prevent the martingale rings going over and catching 
on them. 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 223 

bridles, for without it, the leverage of the bit is lost.* 
The links of the curb-chain should be large, smooth, 
and flat, and about one-quarter inch in width, so that 
it will not hurt a horse's skin as a thin one might. The 
more numerous the links the smoother the curb will 
lie, and will consequently be less severe on the mouth 
than a more open, or twisted chain. The chain should 
never be so tight as to gall or bruise the horse, for this 
will cause him to throw his head about and pull, nor 
should it be so loose as to slip over his chin. 

The simplest form of double bridle is the one with a 
plain or jointed bridoon, in conjunction with a Wey- 
mouth bit having a straight-bar mouthpiece, or one 
with a slight bend, such as the Mullen or Cambridge 
form of port. This bridle often is called the Ward 
Union bridle. Although I do not go so far as to say 
that if you can't hold a horse in this you will never 
hold him in any bridle, nevertheless it serves all or- 
dinary purposes. 

The only legitimate way of increasing the severity 
of the bit is by lengthening tHe cheeks, tightening the 
curb-chain, or by using a twisted or gag snafHe in con- 
junction with it. Bits with very high-jointed ports, 
such as the Stanstead and Segundo bits, although 
useful in the hands of the experienced on pullers, are 
best left alone, t 

The Pelham is a combination of a bit and bridoon 
all in one, and can act as either, according to the de- 

* For horses with very sensitive mouths, the curb-chain may be 
covered with a rubber tubing or leather guard, or the chain itself may 
be substituted by a leather strap. On the other hand, on pullers, the 
severity of the chain may be increased by roughing it — untwisting six 
or more links. 

t Such bits as the Sawbit and the Mohawk are instruments of tor- 
ture and relics of the dark ages. 



224 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

sire of the rider. It consists of a mouthpiece, a cheek- 
piece to which are attached two sets of rings for the 
bit and bridoon reins. The Pelham is usually splendid 
for a horse who does not like the feel of two bits in 
his mouth, who will not face a curb, or carries an exces- 
sively high head. In using it, only one set of reins 
must be drawn taut at a time, either the bridoon or 
the bit. For were both to be felt, the mouthpiece would 
be drawn up too high in the horse's mouth and be in 
an incorrect position. 

The Pelham may either have a plain straight bar 
mouthpiece, a curved half-moon mouthpiece, a 
^'broken" or jointed mouthpiece, or one with a very 
slight port like the Hartwell Pelham. All of which 
are extremely useful on horses with very delicate 
mouths. 

Although, as a general rule, severe bits are a mis- 
take, there is one bit which in the hand of an ex- 
perienced rider is very effective. The French bridle, 
used largely by Mr. F. V. Gooch, has a bit with a 
high port, in which are placed roUers. These act some- 
thing like a ^'mouthing'' bit, and cause the horse to 
play with them, thereby flexing his neck automatically 
and without any pressure from the reins. It is so 
severe, however, that it should only be used on a per- 
fectly made hack by a very finished rider. Its very 
severity would prevent its being used on a bad actor, 
for scarcely any pressure could be applied without al- 
most throwing the horse. If a martingale is used with 
this bit, it should be of round instead of flat leather, 
so as to be in accordance with the French style. 

Such Pelhams as the Stourton, which has a high half- 
hinged port, or the Hanovarian, with or without rollers, 
are too severe for all ordinary purposes. As a general 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 225 

rule, the severer the bit the more it excites the horse, 
and the less well he goes. The Chifney bit, invented 
by the jockey, Sam Chifney, in which the headstall 
is attached to short arms that revolve on the mouth- 
piece and are quite independent of the bit, if properly 
used, may be useful on pullers, but it belongs more or 
less in the category of bits which are interesting as a 
study — such as the Gridiron. Tongue or ladder bits 
have been invented with varying degrees of success, to 
prevent a horse lolUng his tongue out over his bit.* 

Lieutenant-Colonel McTaggart rightly says: *^It 
is not the bit that matters, it is the riding. If we find 
a horse too big and strong for us, or too keen or too 
fretful, let us admit it and dispose of him to some one 
who may like him better. But, for heaven^s sake, do 
not go on trying one severe bit after another in the hope 
that by sheer cruelty we shall be able to force him to 
do our will, or that we shall be able to alter his char- 
acter through the agency of pain. If we train our- 
selves, as well as our horses, we shall find that all these 
various devices are unnecessary, and that the proper 
place for these wonderful bits is not in the stable but 
in the museum.'^ 

Martingales are of two general types: the standing 
martingale and the ring or running martingale. f 

The standing martingale may consist of either a 
long strap which attaches to the nose-band, or a strap 

* Tying a string over the animal's tongue is often very effective. 
Some people use burrs and leather disks in order t,o prevent a horse 
pulling only on one side of the bit, but even in such cases this sort of 
trouble can usually be more effectively corrected by having the animal's 
teeth examined and treated by a dentist. 

t An Irish martingale (called "spectacles") is formed by passing the 
reins through two rings attached together by a small strap. Although 
it may be useful in keeping a horse's neck straight it hampers the free 
use of the reins and is therefore defective in its action. 



226 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

that is divided at the end and attached by billets, or 
snaps, to the rings of the snaffle or bridoon. 

The first type is the one most frequently met with 
in this country. It is useful on a hack in preventing 
the horse from throwing up his head, or star-gazing. 
It may be made as short as desired, but care must be 
taken in using it on a horse unaccustomed to it, for if 
made too tight at first, he may throw himself over 
backward on finding himself restrained. 

Geoffrey Brooke, the high priest of the English show 
ring, and most of the French and Belgian officers who 
make such splendid performances, as well as Mr. 
Thomas Hitchcock, all use a standing martingale when 
jumping their horses, but it is not a practice to be 
reconomended, unless the rider has exceptionally fine 
hands and the horse is quite familiar with its use. 

The form of standing martingale known as the Chesh- 
ire, which attaches to the rings of the snaffle, or bridoon, 
is seldom, if ever, used over here, but is often encoun- 
tered in England and Ireland. Although far more severe 
than the other kind, it is likewise far more effective, 
and not only forces, but teaches , a horse to flex his neck 
and hold his head in place. Whereas a martingale on 
the nose-band merely compels a horse to bring his head 
down, this kind of martingale punishes a horse in 
the mouth every time he raises his head beyond a cer- 
tain limit, and rewards him by a cessation of pain 
whenever he flexes, eventually teaching him what is 
expected of him. Sometimes after a short tuition with 
this form of standing martingale, it can be dispensed 
with altogether. When sufficiently long to enable a 
horse to hold his head in a natural position (or a Uttle 
higher), it is quite safe to be used on a jumper by a 
person with good hands. It is not a martingale, how- 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 227 

ever, that one would advise using for hunting, inas- 
much as, should a horse put his foot in a hole, or 
make a bad mistake, he might not have sufficient free- 
dom of head in order to save himself from a fall. 

In a running, or ring martingale, the two end straps 
are furnished with rings, through which the reins pass. 
The chief use of the running martingale is to keep the 
horse's neck straight, to retain the reins in their proper 
place, and to assist the rider in having more control 
over the animal. When properly adjusted and of 
sufficient length,* it is the safest form of martingale 
to use jumping or hunting. Although not as restric- 
tive, or as instructive, as the Cheshire standing mar- 
tingale, nevertheless, it enables the rider to hold the 
horse with more ease than were no martingale used at 
all, and also prevents the animal from throwing his 
head up and striking the rider's face. 

When a running martingale is used with a double 
bridle, it should be put on the bit reins, and not, as one 
so frequently sees over here, on the bridoon. A run- 
ning martingale on the bridoon deprives the rider of 
having one quite free and simple rein; moreover if, as 
is usually the case, the bit reins are held on the inside, 
then having the martingale on the bridoon reins will 
result in these being pulled across the bit reins, giving 
an awkward feehng to both reins and an untidy ap- 
pearance. Furthermore, it must not be forgotten, 
that the action of the bit is to bring the horse's head 
dowriy and that of the bridoon to bring it up ; inasmuch 
as the action of the martingale is also to keep a horse's 
head dowriy it certainly seems illogical to put it on the 
bridoon rein. 

* A safe length for any kind of martingale used on a jumper is that 
which allows it to reach the horse's jowl, when his head is held high up. 



228 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

As already stated, the bottom rings of the bit should 
be large enough to prevent the rings of the martin- 
gale from slipping over them and catching,* or failing 
this, the rings t of the martingale should be made 
sufficiently small enough to avoid this danger. Small 
round or oblong slits of leather, called ^^ stops," maybe 
slipped onto the reins for this same purpose, but they 
are not smart-looking and it is, therefore, preferable 
to have the rings made the proper size. Of course, 
one is obliged to use stops when a bridle with buckled 
reins is employed. The latter should therefore be 
avoided for this reason if for no other.} 

All martingales, whether standing or running, should 
be provided with a small red rubber ring at the junc- 
tion of the martingale proper and the neck-piece, in 
order to prevent the former from slipping too far 
through and forming a loop, into which a horse might 
put his foot and be thrown. 

Breastplates consist of a neck-piece which is at- 
tached by short loops to the ^^D^s" on the saddle on 
each side of the withers. Their object is to prevent 
the saddle from slipping back when riding over a hilly 
country, and although their use is entirely optional, 
they are very useful on ladies' saddles and on horses 
who are not deep enough through the girth to hold 
the saddle in place. They may be employed either 
with or without a martingale, but in any case should 

* Since going to press, Mr. William H. Maddison has drawn my at- 
tention to an EngHsh bridle in which the cheek-rings of the bit are hung 
perpendicularly instead of horizontally, so that there is no possible 
chance of the martingale rings catching. 

t The smartest rings are those made of bone. 

j With a buckled bridle an emergency stop may be made by pulling 
out from its keeper the billet strap of the buckle. A standing martin- 
gale may also be improvised from a running martingale by buckHng 
the rings of the latter through the rein billets of the bridoon. 



SADDLES AND BRIDLES 229 

always be accurately fitted, so that there will be no 
untidy-looking strap ends. 

While on the subject of tack a few words concern- 
ing boots and bandages may not come amiss. Suffice 
it to say, however, that they are often a necessary 
precaution on valuable horses when hunting or jump- 
ing them, or when exercising show hacks. Boots are 
easier to put on than bandages and afford quite as 
much protection from blows, but they do not support 
the tendons and ligaments in the way that bandages 
do. They are therefore more suited for hacks and polo 
ponies than they are for hunters, whose tendons are 
put to a great strain in jumping. 

If boots are used, an endless variety may be tried 
until one has found a kind effective on the horse in 
question. If used merely to prevent injury from in- 
terfering or brushing, those of brown leather, lined 
with sheepskin, will be found most satisfactory. They 
should be so fitted that they will remain in place, but 
should never be buckled so tightly that circulation will 
be stopped. 

When bandages are used for hunting they should 
be of blue kersey, and carefully put on, so as not to 
hurt the horse's back tendons.* Bandaging |or hunting 
should only be attempted by an expert groom, for 
boots are infinitely preferable to badly put on bandages, 
which come undone and trip the horse up. 

* Using safety pins (as is done on race- tracks) instead of tapes is 
advisable, for with these there is less danger of injuring the animars 
tendons. 



CHAPTER XVI 

DRESS 

"The queer things we say, 
And the queer things we do 
Are English, you know, 
Quite English, you know." 

—Old Song. 

In giving rather an iron-clad list of what is proper 
in the way of riding clothes, I may possibly be laying 
myself open to the accusation of being a slave to fash- 
ion. On the contrary, both in theory and in practice, 
I am much more apt altogether to disregard 'Hhe 
thing, '^ and in dress, as well as in everything else, am 
inclined to be an excellent EpiscopaUan, inasmuch as 
I have always left undone those things which I ought 
to have done and have done those things which I ought 
not to have done! Herbert Spencer says, originaUty 
of nature is sure to show itself in more ways than one, 
and the worth-while people who divert from the beaten 
track in large things, frequently do so in the small 
things — clothes for example. 

One need not, however, be a slave to any fashion 
which is neither practical nor useful, but one should 
cling to those styles which ar both beautiful and suit- 
able and have, moreover, been hallowed by tradition. 
These should not be changed for any passing fad of 
the day ! 

It is for this reason, I suppose, that I am so adverse 
to departing from the old and wisely estabhshed fash- 
ions in riding clothes; for those particularly adapted 
to hunting, polo, and coaching have traditions cling- 

230 



DRESS 231 

ing to them full of the memory of days when the horse 
indeed was king. 

If a woman wishes to express originality in her rid- 
ing things let her, if she has courage enough, go for 
inspiration to the old sporting prints of long ago rather 
than rely on the idiotic ideas of modern tailors, who 
usually do not know a horse from a cow ! If you are 
neither courageous nor artistic enough to copy the 
quaint ladies and gentlemen in the old prints — and 
in the case of the former it would, I grant, be well- 
nigh impossible, since modern saddles and modes of 
riding for women have altered so greatly — it is best 
to abide by the traditional riding clothes that have 
been proven to be serviceable by generations of rid- 
ing men and women. 

For these models of sporting attire we must, of neces- 
sity, turn to the English, who for centuries have ex- 
celled in this line and have produced tailors who, ac- 
cordingly, have evolved clothes most suited to riding. 
Some Americans, usually of the provincial type, think 
that it is unpatriotic and affected to copy EngHsh 
styles; I fail, however, to see why it is any more un- 
patriotic or affected to go to England for our sporting 
models than it is to go to Paris for our evening dresses 
and lingeries. Why should we be willing to admit 
that the Parisian woman has a ^'chic" about her, which 
distinguishes her from all other women in the world, 
and yet be so reluctant to admit that the English 
woman, on a horse, is perfection itself. 

It is not so very astonishing that American men 
seem to think that ''any old thing" will do for riding, 
for they are, in any case, apt to be rather negligently 
dressed, and inclined to think that a smartly turned 
out man is a bit ''dudish.'^ It is a never-ending mys- 



232 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

tery to me, however, that the American woman who, 
as a rule, prides herself on being the most elaborately 
and beautifully gowned woman in the world, should 
be willing to appear out riding, clad in clothes that 
look as if they had been thrown on with a pitchfork ! 

Anything seems to do for riding. Ill-fitting habits, 
boots that bulge at the top and look as if they could 
contain the week's laundry, and hats of all kinds, are 
all means by which an otherwise pretty woman turns 
herself into a frightful-looking guy. The things one 
sees in Central Park, in the way of riding clothes, are 
a sight for the gods. Even in the hunting field one 
sees caps, soft hats, queer-colored ties, and sloppy ill- 
fitting coats, and at those American hunts, which per- 
haps represent more aggregate wealth than any other 
in the world, the men and women, although as well 
mounted as any field in England, spoil the general 
effect by their untidy appearance. In their rat-catcher 
clothes they are rarely as well turned out as a smart 
groom. Excessive prinking and fussing over one's 
clothes is, of course, as abhorrent as the vanity that 
prompts it, but nevertheless it remains a fact that 
one can ride just as hard and just as straight if one is 
well turned out, as if one looks like a frump. Some 
of the hardest and best riders I know are immaculate 
as to their clothes, and most particular as to their 
tack. 

The men of olden days, with their plum-colored coats 
and ruffles, satin knickerbockers, and silk stockings, 
were not one whit less manly or brave than the men 
of the present day in their monotonous black-and- 
white sameness. I, for one, would think it a vast im- 
provement were men to return — in the evening at 
least — to the picturesque costumes of old, so that a 



DRESS 233 

ballroom might once more be the thing of beauty that 
it is nowadays only when a costume ball is in swing. 
But modem life, with its hustle and bustle, has robbed 
us of much of the picturesque side of life, and the hunt- 
ing field is practically the only place left to us in which 
to glimpse a bit of the picturesqueness of olden times. 
There are few prettier sights in the world than a ^^pack 
in full cry" and a field of riders dotting the country 
with flashes of scarlet and black. Indeed, the farmers 
over whose land the field is privileged to pass are much 
more apt to get up an enthusiasm for the sport if they 
are, as in England, in some measure rewarded for the 
damage done to their crops by the sight of a field in 
scarlet. 

But whether it be in the hunting field, or merely 
in the park, we should consider it our duty to ourselves 
and to our neighbor to be well turned out; beauty is 
an end in itself. 

A smartly cut, well-fitting riding-habit is bound to 
be more or less expensive, but I would not advise any 
one to attempt to economize by getting cheap material, 
going to an inferior tailor, or buying '*a ready-made" 
at some department store. In the end a good habit 
will pay, for it will, with a moderate amount of care, 
last for some time, and when it wears out at the knee 
can be neatly patched with a piece of buckskin.* 

The best material for a winter habit is a heavy Mel- 
ton cloth. Tailors are not apt to recommend it, how- 
ever, not only because it wears so well that they reaHze 
it will be a long time before the purchaser will need a 
new habit, but also because it is a very hard, stiff tex- 

* As skirts get much more wear than coats, I would advise getting 
two skirts to each coat, and wearing them alternately, so that both 
skirts maintain the same degree of newness as the coat. 



234 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

ture to work, and must be well cut and fitted to look 
properly. No amount of pulling or stretching will 
ever persuade it to assume a shape that it did not 
have originally. 

The color of a habit is, of course, largely a matter 
of taste, but a black ground with a touch of *' pepper 
and salt,'* or what is termed Oxford or regulation Mel- 
ton mixture, is preferable. Dark blue, brown, and green 
habits are not as smart as melton mixture, while black 
broadcloth has too ^'dressy" a look to be workman- 
like. Cheviots, worsteds, and whipcords do very well 
for knocking about the country, but should not be 
used for the show ring, park, or for hunting. 

For summer wear more liberty of taste is permis- 
sible. Habits of dark gray cloth are pretty for coun- 
try wear, or coats of tan gabardine or white linen 
with a skirt of small black-and-white checked material. 
Reversing the scheme and wearing a dark coat and a 
white serge skirt, although smart, is not serviceable, 
as the white soils so quickly. Washable cloths and 
natural pongees, even when shrunk before being made 
up, are very unsatisfactory as they seldom retain their 
shape. 

The skirt, if of Melton, should be of treble weight, 
and in any case several degrees heavier than the ma- 
terial used for the coat. To hang well, a coat material 
must be of a pliable stuff, but a skirt cloth must be 
very heavy in order that it present a straight line from 
knee to toe. A skirt of a light material will not only 
blow like a balloon in every wind, but will allow the 
right toe to appear out from under its fold, a very ugly 
fault. Even for summer wear the skirt should be heavy, 
and if a light material is chosen for the coat, it should 
be lined or stiffened when used in making up the skirt. 



DRESS 235 

Heat in riding is not felt below the waist, and the slight 
additional weight of cloth in the skirt will not in any 
way inconvenience the rider. Unfortunately American 
tailors, although able to make excellent riding coats, 
fail utterly to make a good skirt, because they insist 
on using too Kght a material. 

Both for a winter or a summer habit, the apron skirt 
is the only safe kind to use, as it practically eliminates 
all danger of the material catching on the pommel 
in case of an accident, and dragging the rider. If this 
sort of skirt is quickly fastened after dismounting, it 
is no more immodest — if as much so — as the average 
modern bathing suit — or evening gown. 

A well-cut skirt should hang, when in the saddle, in 
an absolutely straight line from the knee to the toe 
(see illustrations facing pages 36 and 120), and it should 
be only just long enough to show a tiny bit of the rid- 
er's left foot and stirrup-iron. 

If a habit is well made it should have no unnecessary 
elastics, loops, or buttons — ^an elastic to go over the 
right foot to keep the skirt down, and a button to hold 
back the extra flap that is necessary in order to close 
the skirt when walking, is all that is needed. There 
is absolutely no need, in a properly cut skirt, for but- 
tons at the knee or elastics to place on the left foot. 

In fitting a skirt, care should be taken to see that 
the cloth lies smoothly over the knee, so that it will 
not be necessary to drag it constantly into shape. If 
it is long enough from the hip to the knee, it will do 
this naturally, and it is safer to have the skirt a Uttle 
on the long side in this respect, for if the knee is fitted 
too snugly, the skirt will ride out of place when in mo- 
tion. 

Another important precaution to take, when fitting 



236 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

a habit, is to see that the stirrup leather is placed at 
the length at which the rider usually has it, otherwise 
it will be impossible to ascertain accurately at what 
length the skirt should be. The rider must sit naturally 
in the tailor^s saddle, exactly as she would when riding, 
and must not draw her right foot back in a *' model" 
position. If she does this, the skirt w^l not be wide 
enough to cover her foot when it is extended in its 
natural position. Some English ladies advise using 
their own saddles for fittings, but I do not think this 
absolutely necessary, for in spite of the fact that sad- 
dles differ vastly in shape and size, a good habit should 
sit well on any kind of saddle. It would be well, how- 
ever, to observe the pommels of the habit-maker's sad- 
dle; as a general rule saddles in these estabhshments 
are fitted with low-headed pommels, as this kind gives 
the least trouble in 'Spoking up" under the habit. If 
such proves to be the case, the fitter's attention should 
be drawn to it, and an allowance made for the differ- 
ence in the height of the pommels. 

Every year new and horrible-looking coat models 
appear, designed by some tailor who has never in his 
life been near a horse. But the real horsewoman is 
not influenced by changes of so-called fashions of the 
day, and, if sensible, she retains the same style year 
in and year out with but Httle alteration. 

The accompanying sketches (see Figs. 1 and 2) show 
a type of coat which will prove very serviceable both 
for hacking and hunting. If used for the former, the 
material of which it is made may be fighter and the 
skirt of the coat should be a few inches shorter, but in 
all other respects the difference is so slight as to be 
neghgible. 

It will be observed that the model has no pocketSt 




Figs. 1 and 2 Hunting or Hacking Coat 
Eigs. 3, 4, and 5 Pytchley Coat 

P. Nardi — Habit Maker 



238 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

that it has but one vent or sUt up the back, and 
is single-breasted with four buttons in front, so 'that 
it buttons up very high. This is far smarter than show- 
ing an acre of white shirt. The collar should be of 
''self^' material and never of velvet (unless in a hunt 
livery), and it should be made so that it can be turned 
up around the neck and buttoned over as a protection 
against rainy weather (the buttons may be concealed 
on the under side). The cuffs should not be " false *' 
but it should be possible to turn them down over the 
wrists, and, to be really correct, the buttonholes on 
the cuffs must also be genuine and not ''faked.'* 

It is usually advisable to have the coat large enough 
to permit of a sleeveless vest being worn underneath. 
Only the edge of the vest shows along the opening, 
which gives a smart appearance and also helps to 
make the coat fit better. A false vest or piping edge 
is very incorrect, as it deceives no one, and is in the 
same class as a ''dickey." 

The coat, if used as a hunt livery, should have a 
velvet collar of the hunt colors and the hunt buttons. 
The velvet collar should extend only as far as the sUt 
in the collar, and the buttons should be of black bone 
into which the hunt letters or insignia are cut, and 
show up in the natural bone color. The two buttons 
on the rear of the coat should be of the same size as 
those in front, but those on the sleeves should be con- 
siderably smaller.* 

If an extra heavy coat is desired, I can recommend 
nothing better than to have it made in heavy Irish 
frieze which, on account of its long hairy surface, sheds 
rain well. The coat should be interlined with black 

* The hunt buttons and collar are not permitted to ladies in every 
hunt, and permission to wear them must be obtained from the M. F. H. 



DRESS 239 

and white, or red and white flannel, and it should, of 
course, be made large enough to permit of one woolly 
being worn underneath. 

The other sketch (see Figs. 3, 4, and 5) is what is 
called a Pytchley, and is used a great deal by hunting 
men and women in England. It makes the smartest 
sort of hunt Hvery, but, of course, only to be used as 
a member's coat, and never when acting or represent- 
ing Master, huntsmen, or whips in a team. 

The Pytchley was first introduced in this country 
by Mr. Harry Page. Although, strictly speaking, a 
hunting coat, common usuage in this country has ren- 
dered it acceptable for hacking and showing as well. 
It first attracted the attention of the general riding 
public in 1912 at Madison Square Garden, when Miss 
Hopeton W. Atterbury (Mrs. WiUiam Quaid) and I 
appeared in them in an appointment class. At that 
time it was dubbed the Nardi coat, because the well- 
known habit-maker of that name, copying a model 
given to him, had made them. Unfortunately, how- 
ever, the coat has now been copied wholesale and 
turned out by every Tom, Dick, and the devil of a 
tailor who hasn't the remotest idea of how it should 
be cut. If not well fitted and well cut it is an abomi- 
nation. 

To begin with, it should only be worn by a woman 
with a sUght figure and a long waist; a stout short- 
waisted woman looks like an apple-dumphng in it. 
Secondly, it is strictly a dress habit, and should never 
be worn before 12 a. m., or without a top hat. It should 
only be made of black or Oxford mixture, Melton 
cloth, and never in dark brown, blue, or green. It 
should never be worn with a loud-colored vest, or any 
other shaped vest than that in the illustration, which 



240 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

is made of "moleskin," white in color for hacking and 
buff (not yellow) for hunting^ and the ends are rounded 
and not pointed as is so frequently seen. 

The tails of the Pytchley coat should not be too 
long, and the front edge of the coat where it ends at 
the vest, should be rounded and not angular. Illustra- 
tion facing page 132, and illustration facing page 120, 
show a Pytchley on a man and a woman, respectively. 

The secret of a well-fitting Pytchley, or, for that 
matter, any riding coat, is that it should fit like the 
paper on the wall over the shoulders and back, as far 
down as the last rib; here it should be "sprung" so 
that it does not ride up and down. When fitting the 
coat it is best to move the arms forward, for if when 
doing so wrinkles are present, it is a sign that the coat 
is not properly sprung. 

If a "high-water" mark appears across the back 
where the corset ends, the stays are either too high, 
or too loose, the rider too round-shouldered, or the 
coat too tight. Any one of these faults are easy to 
remedy. Great care must be taken that the collar 
fits nicely and does not gap open and away from the 
neck, which is a sign that it needs "pinching." Most 
tailors begin pulling the coat up and down when it 
does not fit, and manage to make the faults disappear 
by judicious yanking about, but I always tell my tailors 
that, as I won't have them constantly beside me to put 
the coat into shape when I am riding, it must be made 
to fit without the pulling. Generally when the coat 
gaps at the collar or fits badly in the back, it requires 
"lifting" on the shoulders. Don't let the tailor alter 
it elsewhere, just tell him to lift it on the shoulders, 
and see for yourself how much better it will look. Most 
riding coats are made too long-waisted; lifting remedies 



DRESS 241 

this and brings the waist-line into proper position and 
throws the whole coat into better line. The sleeves 
should be put into the body of the coat, as a man's 
sleeves, without any puffiness. 

If a coat looks well on the saddle, don't let your 
tailor make any alteration on it when you step to the 
ground. If it is to fit well when you are on a horse, it 
will be bound to *^ bulge" a little in the front when 
you are standing, and if this is taken in to fit when you 
are on your feet, it will be sure to be too tight at that 
point when you ride. Most tailors and many ladies 
forget that they are fitting a riding coat, and seem to 
prefer to look well on foot rather than on horseback. 

The fining of a riding coat should be of white or dark 
colored silk, and it should never be loud in appearance; 
the coat tails should be lined at their tips with rubber, 
so as to protect them from the sweat of the horse's 
back. 

To secure a perfect fit in a riding coat requires more 
than just one or two fittings, and it should be patiently 
tried on again and again until it is just right. When 
the coat is worn for the first time (and preferably 
before the bill is paid), it would be well for some friend 
to be asked to criticise the coat and note if there are 
wrinkles or bulges, or if there is anything amiss with 
the fit when the rider trots, canters, or gallops. In 
a perfect coat, the back should present an unwrinkled 
appearance, no matter at what gait the rider is travel- 
ling. 

Women's breeches are usually made of Bedford 
cord or of whipcord, of the same shade as the habit 
but of a lighter-weight material. Doeskin leather 
breeches, although expensive, wear very well and are 
delightfully soft and pfiable (providing, of course, that 



242 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

they are properly taken care of, for if not, they soon 
become as stiff as boards) . If doeskin is used, it should 
be of dark reddish or gray brown; white or very light 
colored breeches should never be worn by any woman 
who wishes to present a modest appearance when 
mounting or dismounting from her horse. Most 
women's breeches made in this country are an abomi- 
nation, because they are usually fitted, even at the 
best tailor's, by some woman dressmaker, who rarely 
knows anything about the proper fit of breeches. Al- 
though I strongly disapprove of women going to men's 
tailors for their breeches, I see no serious objection to 
the fitter who adjusts the riding skirt also inspecting 
the fit of the breeches. 

A well-fitting pair of breeches should be almost ex- 
actly like those worn by a man; the only difference 
being that breeches worn on a side-saddle should fit 
the thigh more snugly so as not to make the skirt bulge 
on the sides. Whatever fulness there is, should only 
begin about ten inches above the knee; at the knee 
itself they should fit like a glove to prevent rubbing. 
They should be made in such a manner that when 
drawn on the openings are in the proper place. If 
they require to be twisted around, they will, unless 
made uncomfortably tight, soon work back into their 
old place and be extremely untidy looking.* 

On a man's breeches, the buttons should come a 
little to the inside of the shin-bone, but as the breeches 
of a woman on a side-saddle scarcely ever show, for com- 
fort's sake the buttons may be placed on the shin-bone, 
a trifle to the outside on the left leg, and to the inside 
on the right leg, so as to prevent any possible rubbing 

*A11 breeches should be reinforced or "strapped" mside the knees 
with patches of buckskin. 



DRESS 243 

against the saddle. Even a still better plan is to have 
the breeches lace up over the shin-bone on the inside. 

I am a firm beUever in a woman being almost as 
particular about her breeches as a man, but as they 
are not conspicuous, I think it extremely foolish ever 
to sacrifice comfort in this garment for the sake of 
looks. A woman's position in the saddle is so different 
from a man's, and requires so much more freedom at 
the joints, that I think it is senseless to ape him. A 
seat to be graceful must also be comfortable; once 
comfortable underneath, one can be as smart and trim 
as one likes on top. For this reason I would caution 
a woman to see that her breeches, although neat enough 
to use, if desired, on a cross-saddle, do not cramp her. 

Four buttons are supposed to be the correct number 
to appear above the boot top, but as a woman's boots 
should be sHghtly shorter than those used by a man, 
there should be extensions on her breeches, which but- 
ton or lace half-way down the leg under the boot. 
These not only keep the leg warm in the winter, but 
also prevent the breeches slipping out over the top 
of the boot in an untidy fashion. The extensions, of 
course, should not begin so high up that they are likely 
to show above the boot line, nor should they be so 
loose as to ride up and down and chafe the leg. 

There is but one style of boot, called the "butcher 
boot," which is correct for women's wear, and this 
may be made either in calf, patent leather, or brown 
leather. ''Top" boots, or soft legged boots, are in- 
correct for side-saddle use. For hacking, boots should 
be made of patent leather, or with a calf foot and a 
patent-leather leg. For hunting, a calf boot h the 
correct thing. 

All boots should be supplied with boot garters, 2. e., 



244 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

thin leather straps, the same color as the boot, which 
pass through a loop in the latter and are buckled in 
front just above the top of the boot. 

For summer wear tan leather butcher boots are 
most useful. They should be well-fitting and stained 
(if new) a dark shade of tan. For formal wear, with 
a white skirt at summer shows, black patent-leather 
boots, though hot, are smartest. But for roughing it 
in the country, shoes with worsted puttees, tan gaiters, 
or box-cloth gaiters, which button on the side like a 
man's,' are permissible. They are not as smart, how- 
ever, and no cooler or more comfortable than field 
boots, which lace up to the ankle. The latter have 
the advantage of coming in handy for long tramps 
on foot, or for shooting parties. 

As in the case of breeches, women should not at- 
tempt to copy men too closely in the fit or exact shape 
of their boots. Fashion dictates that a woman's boots 
should be as high as a man's, but ^^ fashion," and boot- 
makers in general, forget that a woman's position in 
a side-saddle is very different from a man's, and that 
high boots are extremely uncomfortable for her. The 
hard leather of a high boot not only presses disagree- 
ably against the breeches buttons, but also is very 
apt, on the left leg, to catch underneath the httle leather 
flap which covers the safety-bar of the saddle, and on 
the right leg to rub against the pommel. For this 
reason it is best always to order boots cut at least 
two inches lower than the regulation height, which is 
scarcely noticeable and much more comfortable.* In 
conversing on the subject with various women, I have 

* Some women, finding that a high boot on the left leg is less objec- 
tionable than on the right, merely have the right one cut down. They 
go on the principle that as the left leg is the only one that shows when 
a woman is walking, the difference in height will not be noticed. I 



DRESS 245 

found that the majority of them do this, but are 
rather ashamed to admit it, for fear that they will be 
accused of violating some especially sacred etiquette of 
riding clothes 1 

A boot should fit snugly in the foot and up the leg, 
and there should be no space at the top of it. Boots 
that are too big in the leg are an abomination, while 
snug boots not only are smart-looking, but also have 
the advantage of being a great protection to the legs 
in case of a fall. I know from personal experience, 
that when one of my horses fell with me, breaking 
my leg in four places below the knee, my surgeon said 
that had it not been for my tight boot, which I re- 
fused to have cut off until the surgeon arrived, the 
breaks might have been worse than they were; the 
boot acted as a splint, and prevented the bones from 
coming through the skin. I always remember this 
nowadays, and whenever I hunt, or school green 
jumpers, I am careful to put on my tightest and best- 
fitting boots. 

Mrs. Hayes writes in The Horsewoman that she 
recommends loose-fitting boots, claiming that in case 
of an accident a woman's boot should be loose enough 
to come off her foot should she hang by the stirrup, 
but I cannot quite follow her line of reasoning. A 
woman's safety in the saddle, depends not on the rather 
sHm chance of her boot coming off, but on the safety- 
bar of her stirrup, and the very improbable advantage 
a loose boot might give in this direction is more than 
counterbalanced, not only by the superior looks of a 
tight boot, but chiefly by the protection the latter 
affords the leg. 

prefer, personally, to have both boots of equal height, not only for the 
sake of symmetry but also because I dislike to wear a high boot even 
on the left leg. 



246 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

As tight boots make the feet cold, hunting-boots 
for exclusive winter use may be made large enough to 
permit one, or two pair, of heavy woollen stockings 
to be worn underneath. 

High heels on a riding-boot are absolutely incor- 
rect, and the proper thing is to have a low, long heel.* 
This must not, however, be overdone and allowance 
must be made for the fact that a woman has a higher 
arch than a man. If the heel of the boot is too low, 
the sole of the foot too flat, and no arch is provided 
for the instep, the boots will be extremely uncom- 
fortable for a woman to walk in. Care should also 
be taken that the inside of the heel of the boot is 
narrow enough, or otherwise the boot will rub up and 
down and chafe the foot in walking. 

New boots should always be ^'broken in" before 
one attempts to hunt or show a horse in them, for 
nothing will make one ride so badly as a pair of boots 
and breeches that are tight and new. 

For ordinary every-day wear in the winter, and for 
cool days in the country, a plain black bowler (derby) 
is the correct thing. But as there are many shapes 
and styles of bowlers, care should be taken to select 
a smart workmanlike model, and I am sorry to say, 
that there are few hatters in this country where one 
can rely on finding one. The average American riding 
hat is a fearful-looking object, and on the whole it is 
generally wiser to import one (and then have a ^' block*' 
made from it for future use), or else endeavor to pick 
out an English model over here. Those from Messrs. 
Locke, or Lincoln and Bennett, are possibly the best. 

Whatever style you select, be sure to avoid the low 

* The long heel is supposed to catch on the stimipHiron, and thus 
prevent a rider from putting the foot too far "home." 



DRESS 247 

crown and broad brim type, which makes the wearer 
look like a mushroom; also beware of the brim that 
tm*ns down — called the ^^ latest thing out/* A mod- 
erate-sized crown and fairly closely turned-up brim, 
resembling a man's conservative model, is the one to 
choose. The material should never be anything but 
felt, and silky shining surfaces should, of course, at 
once be rejected. A narrow half-inch hatband is far 
smarter than the broad band in general use. 

For spring or autumn wear a dark brown or a pearl- 
gray bowler — or as it is quaintly called in England a 
"white Billycock hat,*' is very smart. It should be 
of similar shape and style as the black bowler, and the 
hatband on a gray bowler should never be of any other 
color than gray. A black band is permissible on a 
gray topper, but looks extremely cheap on a bowler. 

The top hat is the dress hat and hunting hat par 
excellence^ but in order to be smart it must be properly 
shaped. A good English shape with a medium-sized 
crown, a very slight ''bell" to it, and a fairly narrow 
closely turned-up brim, similar to a man's topper, is 
much smarter than those seen over here, with a low 
flat crown and broad brim, which make the wearer's 
face appear like the clapper under a huge Christmas 
bell, or those cone-shaped affairs, which resemble a 
cheap vaudeville actor's head-gear. 

Some people object to wearing a top hat on the 
grounds that a bowler is more comfortable, and that 
in our thick American coverts a topper soon gets 
scratched up and requires to be ''done up " after each 
ride.* These minor disadvantages, however, might be 
overlooked for the sake of the "smartness" that a 
top hat bestows upon its wearer. 

^ A topper stands rain, however, better than a bowler. 



248 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

Before passing onto the subject of other hats, it 
would perhaps be well to draw the reader's attention 
to certain rules of etiquette which should govern the 
wearing of a top hat. 

1. Should never be worn before noon when hacking. 

2. It should never be vworn except with a dress habit 
and black boots. 

3. In the hunting field it should never be worn be- 
fore November 1. (In locations where the hunting 
season opens very early, the topper should only be 
worn at ''late'' meets; in other words, it should never 
be worn ''cubbing. '0 

4. In this country where top hats are in the minority, 
and their presence is a trifle conspicuous, they should 
never be worn excepting when one is mounted on a 
high-class horse and, if hunting, by a rider who intends 
to go hard and straight. The sight of some one wear- 
ing a topper, when riding a hired nag is quite incon- 
gruous, and only makes the poor animal look the 
"rattier" for being so dressed-up. 

To break these unwritten laws of the top hat is to 
dub yourself a greenhorn in the eyes of those who know. 

For cub-hunting either a bowler,* or a black or gray 
" Squire's '^ hat is very smart. The "Squire's" hat is 
shaped rather like a topper, only it is squarer and lower 
of crown and is made of a dull felt, similar to that used 
in a bowler. A good Squire's hat can only be obtained 
in England. 

* Generally speaking, only bowlers and toppers, intended for hunt- 
ing, are made "hard," i. e., stiffened, so that they afford considerable 
protection to the rider's head in case of a fall. I see no reason, how- 
ever, why all riding hats should not be made in the same way. The 
very slight difference in weight is more than made up by the protec- 
tion afforded the head against tree hmbs as well as falls, and also by 
the fact that hard hats naturally wear much better than those of or- 
dinary make, which become soft and sloppy if they ever get wet. 



DRESS 249 

A gray topper with a narrow black band is rather 
smart for showing hacks at spring shows. It is too 
flashy, however, to be used other than rarely. In shape 
it should be identical to the silk topper, and in color a 
darker gray than that of the gray bowler. The band 
on it should be one and one-half inches wide and of 
black cloth. This hat should only be worn as ''dress,'' 
when the rider is exquisitely turned out and well 
mounted, and it is correct only on a saddle horse. 
Unfortunately, in common with many other of our 
smartest styles, it has been badly copied by many 
hatters in this country and has been overdone. 

For summer and country wear, an English white 
straw sailor-hat with a fairly high crown and narrow 
brim is very smart. As a rule, however, straw hats 
are unfortunately not very becoming to the average 
face, and are in reality no cooler than a gray bowler, 
which therefore does quite well for summer, as well as 
for spring wear. Panamas are floppy, uncomfortable- 
looking affairs, and so-called "continentals" are far 
from smart. It goes without saying that caps and 
other weird shaped hats are tabooed by any woman 
making any pretense to smartness. A good ''som- 
brero," however, makes a nice hat for knocking about 
the country. In our hot American climate the Egyp- 
tian "sola topee," or the white pith (cork) helmet, 
worn by poloists, can also be used with success. They 
are extremely cool and Hght, and if given a coat of 
white paint, they will, although losing something of 
their smartness, last longer and be quite water-proof. 

All riding hats should be placed squarely and firmly 
on the head; they should not be so small in size, that 
they perch on top like "Charlie Chaplin's," nor yet 
so large that they resemble a candle-snuffer. The 



250 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

angle should always be absolutely straight, neither 
tilted forward, nor to the side, as this gives one the 
appearance of a ^^ cheap sport.'' All women's riding 
hats should have, firmly sewn on the inside, a broad 
elastic band which is placed behind the knot of hair, 
and secured with hair pins. Pins through the crown 
of a hat are dangerous and an uncalled for disfigure- 
ment. 

The hair should be worn straight back off the fore- 
head and done up in a snug braid or bun, but never, 
excepting in the case of a child, should it be tied with 
a hair-ribbon. The hair may be pulled out just a 
little over the ears to prevent one looking like a skinned 
rabbit, but it should never be worn puffed out or 
fluffed like a chorus girl on the stage. A hair net, 
made of heavy cording, woven like a fish-net, helps 
very much in keeping the hair tidy, but it is not easy 
to obtain in this country. 

Properly put on and correctly secured, a riding hat 
should remain in place under every sort of circum- 
stance; nothing short of a hurricane should be able 
to dislodge it, and even after a fall, its position should 
be more or less unchanged. There is no excuse for 
the untidy-looking head-dress that one so often sees. 

The veil is one of the many secrets in the Enghsh- 
woman's possession, which, perhaps, in some measure 
accounts for her invariable and immaculate smart- 
ness in the saddle. For some unknown reason, Amer- 
ican women will not adopt the veil, although it has 
so much to recommend it and practically nothing that 
can be said against it. It does not dazzle the eyes or 
obstruct the view as is so commonly supposed, and it 
keeps the hair wonderfully tidy, helps to secure the 
hat, adds to the general smartness of appearance, and 



DRESS 251 

in riding through our thick American coverts prevents 
the twigs from scratching the face. Any one who 
wishes to look correctly appointed cannot do better 
than to adopt the veil. In order, however, to give it 
a fair trial, one must not use merely an ordinary veil. 
The riding veil is a creation, per se,* cut to certain 
accurate measiurements, and possessing an elastic run 
around its edge which holds it firmly to the hat. By 
this means, it can be adjusted or removed in an in- 
stant without even the aid of a mirror, and it requires 
no pins to keep it in place. ' 

Hat-guards are only worn when hunting or jump- 
ing, but all riding hats should be provided with the 
necessary hat-guard ring in the brim, in case it is re- 
quired. Out hunting, a hat-guard is indispensable, for 
should one^s hat be swept off by an overhanging 
branch, the rider can easily recover it, without being 
put to the inconvenience of dismounting. 

The best gloves, for general riding use and for hunt- 
ing, are of reddish brown (not yellow) doeskin, with 
plain stitching and only one button. They should be 
several sizes larger than those usually worn, in order to 
insure perfect freedom for the fingers, and, for the same 
reason, a pliable soft skin should always be chosen. So- 
called ^'driving gloves,'^ with ridges of leather running 
parallel on the hand, are supposed to give a good grip 
on the reins, but I think that they are too stiff and 
clumsy for riding. The correct way to wear riding 
gloves, is to leave them unbuttoned and turn them 
down over the wrists. 

Although the reddish-colored doeskin gloves are 
by far the most serviceable, and have the most work- 
manlike appearance, for dress occasions white or buff 

* Messrs. Sands, in Sloane Street, London, will send them by mail. 



252 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

colored real buck gloves are very smart. Real buck 
is, however, very difficult to obtain, and if it cannot 
be procured no attempt should be made to wear light- 
colored gloves, for imitation buck and chamois gloves 
are sloppy-looking things. It goes without saying, 
that gauntlets, swedes, or gloves in different shades 
of gray or yellow, are tabooed. For winter wear fur 
or fleece-lined doeskin gloves may be worn, with wrist- 
lets if necessary. 

Except for knocking about in the country, a woman 
should never ride, hunt, or show without gloves. It 
is all twaddle to say that they hamper the fingers, 
for if made of a soft skin, properly fitted, one can al- 
most play the piano in them, and in protecting the 
fingers they are far more apt to be an advantage than 
a disadvantage. 

For regular hacking or hunting, nothing is smarter 
than a plain hunting stock of white unfigured hnen. 
The collar proper should be starched stiff but not 
glazed, and the broad ends of the stock should be left 
soft. Most of the ^^ ready-made'^ stocks are untidy 
affairs, that look like a sore-throat bandage around 
one's neck. A stiff stock may possibly feel a bit un- 
comfortable at first, but one soon becomes used to it, 
and then rejoices at the luxury of wearing something 
that remains tidy and presentable under all circum- 
stances. 

As a change from the white stock, a stiff standing 
(not turn-over) collar is permissible for hacking or for 
showing, but it is not correct for hunting. It is worn 
with an old-fashioned dotted foulard ^' stock tie," 
similar to those affected by our grandfathers, as seen 
in old daguerreotypes. These stocks may be either 
simple little ties, which go once completely around 



DRESS 253 

the collar and tie in a small soft bow (not a voluminous 
artistes bow), or else they are of the Ascot variety, with 
broad ends. These, after going completely around the 
collar, tie in front exactly Uke the white hunting stock, 
and are puffed out and secured with a plain pin. Both 
styles are very smart, if properly put on and correctly 
made, in dark blue, green, brown, or black foulards 
with inconspicuous polka-dot patterns, but not in 
loud colors. The tie should not be so wide as to cover 
all the white of the collar, and it should be so cut that 
it is higher in front than in the back, so that it does 
not go around the collar at the same height all the 
way. Unfortunately, these smart Uttle stocks have 
been so badly copied by every one, that they are now 
rather common. 

Another sort of tie to wear with a plain stiff stand- 
ing collar and which is suitable when showing a hack, 
is a white, or black satin Ascot. 

For summer country wear, a soft linen or silk turn- 
over collar may be worn with a silk-knitted four-in- 
hand tie. The collar should be pinned together above, 
as well as below the tie, with small gold safety-pins, 
without which the collar presents an untidy appear- 
ance. 

Jewelery of any kind should never be worn when 
riding. A plain gold safety-pin should be used to secure 
stock ties, and js far smarter than a pin of fancy de- 
sign. Diamond horseshoes, etc., bespeak the parvenu. 
In addition to the pin for the stock, simple cuff-links, 
and a plain wrist-watch, are the only accessories that 
are necessary. 

If going over to England, I would advise having 
one's garments and one's boots dressed with an invisible 
and harmless water-proofing, which renders them im- 



254 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

penetrable to the rain. As a general rule, it is easier 
to have habits so treated before the cloth is made up, 
but with boots it can be applied each week just like 
blacking. 

If one's clothes have not been water-proofed, the 
waterproofs made by Burberry^ England, will be 
found very serviceable. Those with a belt, which 
prevent the wind from getting under them, are by 
far the best. A rubber apron, is the only adequate 
protection for a woman's right knee, which usually 
gets the worst of a wetting. Thin emergency water- 
proofs, weighing only ten ounces, prove useful, but of 
course do not afford as much protection as the heavier 
ones. White waterproofs, although smart in appear- 
ance, soil very quickly and are, to boot, usually made 
of a poor quality of rubber, which cracks. 

White or buff ^^ cord" gloves are indispensable' for 
wet weather, for nothing is so unpleasant as a wet 
doeskin glove, with which it is almost impossible to 
hold the reins. Cord gloves should therefore always 
be carried under the girths when hunting, in case they 
are needed. 

Considered merely as an article of dress, and aside 
from any use which it may be put to, the proper kind 
of whip for all ordinary hacking, or for show-ring pur- 
poses, is a short '^swagger" stick made of bamboo, 
twisted leather, or plain wood. A cutting whip 
(with a leather loop for a point), should be used 
only for schooling, or racing, for inasmuch as it is 
made of whalebone covered with catgut, it is very 
severe. 

The hunting crop, like most of our riding things, is 
of English origin, and when hunting over there is an 
indispensable article with which to open the latches of 



DRESS 255 

unjumpable gates.* Over here, where one is more 
apt to jump the gate than to attempt to open it, the 
use of the crop is confined for a mere follower of the 
hunt: (1) To hold out at arm's length with the thong 
hanging down vertically, in order to warn hounds 
away from a horse's heels; (2) to crackf in aiding the 
turning of hounds (a practice best left to those who 
know something about it); (3) to use in saving the 
pelt of the fox from hounds, should one happen to be 
alone with them when they kill. 

It will be readily seen that the actual use of the hunt- 
ing crop in this country is far more limited than in 
England, and is not a necessity over here, as over there. 
Nevertheless, I cannot conceive of a well-turned-out 
person going out hunting without a crop. If for no 
other reason, it should be carried for the sake of old 
hunting tradition, and, once used to it, it will be found 
quite as convenient for touching a horse as any other 
sort of whip, and no more cumbersome to handle. 

A woman should never make the mistake of select- 
ing a dainty ladies' crop, but should pick one that is 
made somewhat as follows: The handle should be of 
bone, roughened at the end, and with a metal stud. 
(This is to prevent the crop slipping when pushed 
against a gate.) The main body of the crop, which 
should be about nineteen or twenty inches long, must 
be either of plain malacca or of heavy whalebone, 

* In opening a gate the thong should be wrapped around the hand 
several times, so that should it be jerked out of the hand it may be 
easily recovered. 

t In cracking a thong the rider should make the cuts upward and 
downward on a vertical plane, parallel to the horse's side, and a little 
away from him so as not to hit him. The art of cracking the thong, 
hke learning to catch a four-in-hand thong, should be practised on 
foot and never attempted on horseback unless one is sure not to hit 
him. All hunters should be accustomed to thQ use of the thong. 



256 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

covered one half with catgut and one half with leather. 
One or two silver bands may be placed on the stick. 
The leather keeper, at the end of the stick, should be 
of the same color as the thong and long enough to 
permit of the thong being brought around, so that it 
will lie flat against the stick. 

The thong should be three feet ten inches long, and 
finished with a red, blue, brown, or green ' ^ point. ' ' Some 
people prefer a white pipe-clayed thong, which is un- 
doubtedly very smart, but as it soils very quickly and 
the pipe-claying comes off all over a woman's habit, 
I do not think it is as practical as the brown thong. 
A crop without a thong should never be used imder 
any circumstances. The empty keeper flopping in the 
air is extremely foolish-looking. 

The hunting crop, in conamon with the swagger- 
stick or any other sort of whip, should be carried in 
the right hand with the handle pointed downward^ and 
close to one's side, to prevent it catching in branches, 
etc. It is frequently stated that the correct way to 
hold the thong is to loop it once around the hand, 
but a far better way is simply to lay it flat against the 
hand and allow it to hang straight down. The former 
method is so clumsy I do not wonder that people who 
think they are obliged to carry it in that way prefer 
to leave it home altogether rather than be encum- 
bered with such a handful. 

For use in hacking about the country, a short kennel 
crop, which has a thong but no handle, is very con- 
venient to whip passing dogs off one's horse's heels, 
etc. It should, however, never take the place of the 
regulation hunting crop. 

For summer use a ^'fly-swisher," made of bamboo 
with a tassel of white or black horsehair, is very useful 
in keeping the flies off. 



DRESS 257 

The uses of the spur are discussed elsewhere, suffice 
it to say that, considered simply as an article of dress, 
the proper spur for a woman is a blunt polo spur with 
a short or long shank, according to taste and require- 
ments. A heavy man^s spur should be selected and 
not the delicate little affair that is usually offered a 
woman and looks as if it would bend in the breeze. 
The regulation woman's spur, which has a rowel and 
a guard to prevent its catching in the riding-habit, 
should never be used, not only because a rowelled 
spur is in any case quite unnecessary, but also because 
the patented guard nearly always gets out of order 
and the whole thing looks far from smart. 

There is nothing that so dresses up a boot as a well- 
pohshed spur, providing that it is properly put on and 
not allowed to ^^drip," or sag, at the heel. To prevent 
this the spur should be fitted to the boot, and the straps 
made at that length which will permit of the spur being 
held at right angles, and as high up on the heel as the 
seam which joins the leg of the boot to the foot. Spurs 
worn lower than this are not smart, and although a 
small spur block, attached to the boot to prevent the 
spur sagging, is preferable to a dripping spur, never- 
theless it is not nearly so smart as a spur so well fitted 
that it remains in place by itself. 



REFERENCE LIST OF APPOINTMENTS 

Outdoor shows, park and general riding in the morning: 
Black or gray bowler (hat-guard only on hunters). 
White hunting stock, or collar and stock tie. 
Black or gray habit with skirt-coat. 
Black patent-leather butcher boots (calf on hunters) and 

garters. (Boots should be well "boned.") 
Spur. 

Tan doeskin gloves. 
Swagger-stick. 

Summer shows or general riding in the country: 

Gray bowler or sailor (hat-guard only on hunters). 

White hunting stock or collar and stock tie. 

Gray habit, or light coat and skirt of different material. 

Tan field boots (and garters). 

Spur. 

Tan doeskin gloves, 

Swagger-stick. 

Indoor shows, afternoon or evening, and afternoon 
PARK wear: 

Top hat (hat-guard only on hunters). Veil optional. 
White hunting stock. 

Black Melton habit with skirt-coat, or Pjrtchley and vest. 
Black patent-leather boots (calf on a hunter) and gar- 
ters. 
Spur. 

Tan doeskin or white buckskin gloves. 
Swagger-stick (hunting crop on a hunter). 
Small boutonniere of real flowers. 

Full appointments for saddle appointment classes: 

(Rider's attire same as above described for afternoon and 

evening wear) : 
Tack on horse. 

bridle 

Plain double bridle with Weymouth bit or Pelham. 
Reins and headetall sewn in. not buckled. 

258 



REFERENCE LIST 259 

Plain stitched nose-band. Cavasson nose-band incor- 
rect on a hack. 

Brow-band or front of silk braided ribbon. 

No martingale permitted. 

If desired a French bridle and bit with single rein may- 
be used. 

SADDLE 

Good make, preferably with narrow off flap, but not 

cut so as to show girth buckles. 
Balance strap optional. 
Leather, and not buckskin, pommels and seat. Leather 

or linen lining. No pockets or monograms on off 

flap. 
No numnahs or pommel pads. Leather girths. 
The leather of saddle and bridle should match in shade 

and be of a dark color. 

HORSE 

Color. Bay, chestnut, sorrel, or brown preferred. 

Gray, black, and roan only permissible. 

Dun, skewbald, piebald not permissible. 

Excessively flashy markings count against a horse. 

Mane, neatly braided, without color, or hogged accord- 
ing to type of horse. 

Tail, pulled at dock, and switched or banged at the 
hocks. 

Horse uncKpped, or, if clipped, with only a saddle-mark 
left undipped. 

Fetlocks, nose, and ears neatly trinomed. 

For cub-hunting: 
Black bowler or "Squire^s" hat with hat-guard. 
White hunting stock. 
Black Melton habit with skirt-coat. 
Black calf butcher boots and garters. 
Spur. 

Tan doeskin gloves. 
Hunting-crop with brown thong. 

Hunt livery: 

(Correct after formal opening of season and for Corinthian 
classes in shows) : 



260 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

Top hat with hat-guard to match velvet collar. Veil op- 
tional. (Hunt collar should never be worn with a 
bowler.) 

White hunting stock. 

Black Melton habit with skirt-coat (or Pytchley), with 
distinctive hunt buttons and velvet hunt collar.* 

Black calf butcher boots and garters. 

Spur. 

Tan doeskin or white buckskin gloves. 

Hunting-crop with brown or white pipe-clayed thong. 

Combination oblong hunting-case should be carried on 
off rear side of saddle, and white or buff cord gloves 
under off girths. 

Full appointments for ladies^ hunt team: 

For member^s team. 

All three ladies attired as above, and exactly alike even 
as to the shape of hat, tying of stock, length of 
thong, etc., etc. 
Tack on horses. 
Bridles all alike, double or single, with sewn-in reins 
and headstalls. French clip not desirable. Plain 
Cavasson nose-bands and plain, not colored, 
fronts. 
Saddles, all alike, of some good make, preferably 
with pigskin, and not buckskin, seat and ponamels. 
Leather or linen lined, with leather girths. 
Martingales and breastplates optional, but the latter 
generally advisable on a ladies' team. If used, 
martingales and breastplates should be made 
to fit each horse. Martingale rings should be 
of proper size, so that leather stops are unneces- 
sary. 
Leather combination flask and sandwich-case (oblong 
not oval) carried on off rear of saddles. White 
or buff cord storm gloves under off girths, with 
tips just protruding beyond the saddle-flap. 

* Scarlet is never worn by women, although I believe Miss Somer- 
ville of the West Carbery, in Ireland, who hunts her own hounds, 
wears it. 



REFERENCE LIST 261 

Wire-cutters optional, but not considered advisa- 
ble on a ladies' team. 

Horses. 

All alike as possible in shape, style, type, and color, 
and all suitable for women's use. If an odd 
colored horse is present he should go in the cen- 
tre. 

Manes, tails, and clipping all alike. Manes neatly 
braided, without color, or hogged.' Tails pulled 
at butt and banged or switched. If clipped the 
saddle-mark and legs should be left undipped. 

For team of lady M. F. H. and lady whips, or lady 

huntsman and whips: 
All details same as for member's team, with the follow- 
ing exceptions. 

Black velvet helmets instead of toppers. 

Lady acting as M. F. H. rides in centre and carries 
horn-case. 

Ladies acting as whips carry couples for the hounds 
and an extra stirrup leather in addition to the 
combination sandwich-case. 

If a lady rides in a member's team with two gentle- 
men, she should be dressed exactly as in the 
ladies' team, but her hat should, of course, be 
exactly like that worn by the men, and her coat 
should be of the same cut and style as theirs, 
although, of course, not scarlet. She should carry 
the combination sandwich and flask case, but 
the men should carry separate flask and sand- 
wich cases; the former on the near forward side 
of the saddle, and the latter on the off rear. 

The men should be dressed as if they were in a man's 
team, with white leather breeches, calf boots with 
pink, flesh, or brown tops, and white garters,* 
spurs, crops, etc. Their coats should be of black 
frieze or of scarlet. 

* Before 1880 knee ties of white leather ribbon, tied just below the 
fourth button of the breeches, were worn instead of garters. It will 
be observed that the gentlemen in the illustration facing page 132, were 
wearing these as late as 1893. 



262 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

Ladies' cross-saddle appointments: 

As stated elsewhere I do not advocate cross-saddle 
riding for women, but as there seem so many doubts con- 
cerning the manner in which a woman astride should 
dress, a little advice on the subject may not come amiss. 

For a woman to be turned out exactly like a man, is, in 
the nature of things, impossible. There is a wheel within 
a wheel in appointments, and certain articles of clothing 
call for others, so that the best that a woman can do is 
to compromise on those most suitable for her particular use. 

For example, a top hat when worn by a man on a hack 
calls for long blue military trousers and box-spurs; when 
worn on a hunter it necessitates boots with flesh, pink, or 
brown tops, and these, in turn, demand white leather or 
cord breeches.* 

It is quite obvious that a woman cannot wear military 
trousers, and, for that matter, neither does she look very 
well in white breeches. In the following list of apparel it 
is endeavored to get around these diflficulties, and suggest 
appointments that are both correct in themselves and yet 
suitable for a woman's use. 

For general use, park wear, or for showing a hack: 

Black or gray bowler. 

White hunting stock, or collar and tie. 

Single-breasted skirt-coat. 

Brown cord breeches, buttoned on the inside of the 
shin. (Coat and breeches should preferably not be 
of the same color and material, as this looks like 
a groom's livery.) 

Jack boots and garters. 

Spurs. 

Tan doeskin gloves. 

Swagger-stick. 

For riding or showing a hunter: 

Black bowler and hat-guard. 
White hunting stock. 

* Brown breeches and boots with patent-leather tops are occasionally 
worn with a "topper" in Ireland, but it is not considered correct. 



REFERENCE LIST 263 

Single-breasted skirt-coat. 

Brown cord breeches. 

Black boots with patent-leather tops^ and black garters. 

Spurs. 

Tan doeskin gloves. 

Crop with thong. 

For country or summer wear: 
Gray bowler or man's white sailor. 
Turn-over collar and four-in-hand tie. 
Single-breasted skirt-coat of tan gabardine or linen. 
Shepherd's plaid, gabardine, or khaki breeches. 
Tan field boots, leggins, or box-cloth gaiters and shoes. 
Spurs. 

Tan doeskin gloves. 
Swagger-stick. 

For a ladies' cross-saddle hunt team: 

Correct appointments for a team of women astride are, 
owning to the afore-mentioned difficulty about white 
breeches, "top" boots, and top hat, far from easy to deter- 
mine. As a well-known hunting judge once said: *' There 
are no appointments for a woman's team astride !" 

As a bowler is under no circumstances correct for a 
hunt team, and a top hat necessitates wearing white 
breeches, in the following list it will be noted that the 
*' Squire's" hat has been suggested as the proper com- 
promise. 

Black "Squire's" hat with hat-guard. 

Skirt-coat (Pytchley looks vulgar on a woman astride). 

Brown cord breeches, buttoned or laced on the inside. 

Calf boots with patent-leather tops and garters. 

Spurs. 

Tan doeskin or white buckskin gloves. 

Hunting-crop with brown thong. 

Cord gloves under off girths. 

Separate flask and sandwich-case as in a man's team. 

If a woman insists on wearing a topper, she should then 
wear white leathers or cords, and boots with flesh, pink, or 
brown tops, with white garters. 



264 HACKS AND HUNTERS 

If she rides with two men in a team she is then, of course, 
obliged to wear the topper and leathers and top boots, as is 
also the case were she in a team acting as M. F. H., under 
which circumstances, the topper is supplanted by a helmet. 

Before closing it might be well to add a few words to the 
effect that children should be dressed as much like their 
elders on horseback as is consistent with their age. 

Tiny bowlers are preferable to silly-looking jockey caps. 
A jacket, turn-over collar and tie, well-made breeches, leg- 
gins or box-cloth gaiters and shoes, complete a smart out- 
fit. An older child may wear boots. 

When a girl gets old enough to ride side-saddle she should 
then be fitted with a Melton mixture, or very dark blue 
jacket, well-cut skirt, and boots. A stiff Eton collar is more 
youthful than a regular stock. She should wear a bowler 
and have her hair neatly tied back. 

Tan doeskin gloves and a swagger-stick are smart, but 
spurs should be reserved for the more experienced. 






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